Full Metal Panic!: Road Trip
by GunsOFun
Summary: Chapter 6 up! Sousuke asked Kaname on another trip, or is it just a normal trip this time? Will they have a great time or is this just going to be like that last trip? Takes place a few days after the events of EDBD/TSR.
1. Assumptions are the Mother of All

A/N: I do not own Full Metal Panic, nor do I own the copyrights to any vehicles and/or equipment mentioned in this story. I only own the plot… and that's still up for debate.

A/N: I know it's been nearly a year since I posted and alot of things have changed. I've finally have been able to get back to writing and working with a very good editor (Glockbabe) to make sure my stories are the best that they can be. I hope you all enjoy the re edited chapters I've posted. R&R are always welcome.

**Full Metal Panic! Road Trip**

_Chapter: 1_

_Assumptions are the Mother of All…_

**November 1, 06:45 (Japan Standard Time) **

**Chofu, Tokyo, Japan **

**Maison K apartment 404**

The morning sunlight filtered through the pale lavender blinds, softening the stark white walls with a warm, golden glow. The alarm clock, which resembles an odd, bug-eyed white chicken, shattered the post dawn stillness with its persistent squawks, "Que..., Que... Get up, Kaname! If you don't, you'll be late!" The plastic bird continuously repeated its call until a blue and white striped arm reached out to silence the annoying chicken. The blue haired maiden slowly pushed herself forward into a sitting position with a wide yawn before climbing out of bed.

Sleepy-eyed, she stumbled toward her bedroom window. Opening her curtains a little, she looked out her window toward the apartment building across the road. Bringing a hand up to shield her eyes from the bright fall morning sun light, she could barely make out the shape of someone on the roof of the building across the way. Upon recognizing the figure of her other protector, Kaname smiled slightly to herself and softly whispered "Wraith…"

Realizing that things were finally back to the way they were before those frightful days last week, Kaname's smile brighten. Her main protector hadn't been there during the dreaded mid-terms or when she had discovered she was being followed. Those were the days when she found herself truly alone for the first time in six months; in danger, frightened and needing him more than ever. He had been recalled, his mission to protect her had been terminated, and worst of all he had simply followed orders and walked away without even telling her good bye. She shook her head, not wanting to dwell on those nightmarish events anymore. She was glad she had been able to bring him back, to have her classmate and protector, back at her side.

Stumbling into the bathroom, she started the water for her morning shower before unbuttoning her pj top to place it in the wicker basket by the door. She removed her pj bottoms and panties in one motion, sliding them down her firm athletic legs and then tossed them on top of her pj top.

After taking a few precious moments to wake up completely under the shower's powerful spray, she continued her morning routine of cleaning herself and washing her long blue hair. Once finished, Kaname towel dried her hair before vigorously rubbing the towel over her lithe limbs. As she exited the steam-filled room, Kaname dropped the towel into the wicker basket and gracefully moved toward the bedroom to dress for the day. Stacked neatly atop her dresser were the matching pink panties and bra which she slipped into with a sigh before reaching for the winter uniform hanging behind the door. Satisfied that she was as prepared as possible for the day, the girl reached out to pick up her mother's picture. With a loving smile, she spoke in a confident tone. "Wish me luck today, Mom!"

Upon entering the main living area, Kaname picked up her school bag to make sure she had everything ready for the day. "Notes, check. School books, check. Trusty harisen for beating some sense into a certain stupid military maniac, double check!!" Closing her bag with a snap, Kaname headed for the door and slipped on her pink and white trimmed tennis shoes over her black socks. With her head held high, a warm smile gracing her face, keys and school bag in hand, the girl left her cozy apartment.

After making her way down the concrete stairs and through the front doors of the lobby, Kaname spotted a dark brown haired boy with deep steel grey eyes and a cross shaped scare on his lower left cheek, standing on the side walk. He was standing there in his normal place awaiting her arrival. Dressed in a black wool uniform jacket of their school's male winter uniform, his white shirt collar peeked precisely one half inch over the still wool collar and the black slacks were perfectly creased down the center of each long leg. No speck of lint would _dare_ sully the military precision of his attire! With his black school bag at his side, loaded with god only knows what. Kaname mentally shook her head in wry amusement. _He truly is back…_

"Good morning Sousuke," she sang as Kaname greeted him warmly. Her smile brimmed to point that her pearl white teeth shown as bright as the morning sun.

"Good morning, Chidori. Are you ready to proceed to the train station?" At her nod, Sousuke turned sharply on his heel and led the way down the street

At first, Kaname walked just a little behind him for a bit. Then she noticed the faint outline of his Glock 26 and two spare magazines sticking out of the waist band of his slacks. Pondering how to broach the subject that weighed heavily on her mind, Kaname moved up along his left side and asked in a concerned tone, "Is everything alright?"

"Affirmative" he replied in his normal rigid way while his wary eyes scanned the people and buildings ahead of them for any possible threats to Kaname or himself.

Lowering her head a bit, Kaname worried her bottom lip a moment before breaking the awkward silence. "You've been kinda busy after school these past few days. Is there anything I should be worried about?"

"No, there's nothing for you to worry about. I've been doing some research concerning a mission for Mithril. Kurz has been aiding me in this process to make sure it goes well. I've got a few more details to work out with him, but everything should go as planned," he answered her.

"Oh..." Kaname breathed, not wanting to think about Sousuke possibly leaving her yet again to go on another dangerous mission. It had only been a little over a week since those events in Hong Kong, and since then he had been gone for a day and half to go to Merida Island. She had tried to put on a happy face, but her feelings on the matter made it very difficult. She hated the idea of him leaving, not knowing when or _if_ he would return to her. Her emotional attachment for this teenage Mithril Specialist had grown quite a bit over the past few months and the thought of losing him now was simply heartbreaking! However, she also knew that if she were to verbally object to his deployment that he would simply say 'It's not a problem', or 'It's nothing for you to worry about, I'll return as soon as the mission is over with', or some other idiotic statement that was meant to set her mind at ease. _As if…_

_Besides, it's not like he would ever take my feelings into account when he leaves_. _Then again, it's not like I have told him how I feel about him_. Every time she had a chance to say anything about her feelings for him, the words would get stuck in her throat. She had _hinted_ at it and danced around the issue, but she had never just come out and _said_ it. It was so frustrating to her that she hadn't been able to summon up the courage to share her true feelings with him at all.

xxxxx

**08:02 (Japan Standard Time) **

**Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan**

**Keio Line, Sengawa Station-Bound Train**

Throughout the peaceful train ride, Kaname pondered on her feeling for Sousuke. Well, that's not entirely true. She already knew how she felt; the real problem was how to tell him in a way that he would understand. He wasn't stupid or anything, but when it came to affairs of the heart he wasn't exactly quick on the uptake. This was just too important for him to confuse what she so desperately needed to express with some damn militaristic nonsense! The idea of spelling everything out so that he actually got it the first time was beginning to give her a raging headache and she absently tried to rub away the building tension in her neck.

"Is everything ok, Kaname?" Sousuke became concerned after noticing the strained look on her face.

She jumped a little at his words. "Yes!" she answered quickly and adopted a false face of happiness. _Damn it Sousuke, how could you ever comprehend what I go through when you leave._

He looked forward again; his gut told him that something was worrying her. _I wish she would tell me what it is that's bothering her. She trusts me, doesn't she?_ Instead of asking her, he just sat there and moved his right hand slightly, resting it next to her hand so that they barely touched each other. Sousuke knew that she was worried about something, and it weighed heavily on her mind. But he was also aware that if he pressed her, Kaname would simply deny it. The only course of action left was to let her know that he was there for her. When he felt her pinky rub along his briefly, the young soldier released a sigh before setting back to enjoying the rest of the ride to school.

xxxxx

**08:21 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Chofu, Suburb of Tokyo, Japan**

**Metro Road 114, 300 feet North of Jindai Municipal High School**

As they approached their destination, they were greeted by Kaname's long time friend, Kyouko Tokiwa.

She had noticed the disheartened expression on her friend's face. "Is anything the matter, Kaname?" Kyouko asked.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? I'm fine, perfectly happy!" Kaname replied with a nervous laugh, just as Sousuke knew she would. She would have answered the same way no matter who asked her this morning. She was obviously putting up a front. Anyone that knew or cared about her would have noticed it, but both Kyouko and Sousuke let it go on as though they hadn't.

Kaname smiled as the trio resumed walking toward the school's main gate. Peaceful mornings such as this were starting to become more common since that night in Hong Kong. So far, Sousuke hadn't blown anything up, nor had he pulled his Glock or any other weapon from his personal arsenal to threaten, interrogate, or terrorize anyone. She could definitely get used to this newer, calmer Sousuke.

The soldier walked beside her, lost in his thoughts. _There's so much I want to tell her, things she should know! But how would she react knowing that I sacrificed half my salary just to stay by her side? What about the fact that even though I did that, I still have to report when ordered? Would she laugh in my face? Or would she attack me and call me an idiot? _Every time he even thought about broaching the subject his throat would constrict and the words refused to come out. He felt like a coward. As a soldier, he could face almost anything without a second thought. Finding himself surrounded by armies of terrorists? Not a big deal. Outnumbered by Venoms five to one? Not a problem. Facing down a large group of teen age gang members? No sweat. Going toe to toe with General Amit about his humanity and his own future? Well, that had been a fight that he wasn't about to back down from one bit. However, when it came to telling Kaname about his growing feeling for her, BIG PROBLEM! He hoped that sometime soon he'd be able to find the courage to tell her about these feelings that had been confusing him over the past several months. It's something he had been working hard on, yet the ability to carry through continued to elude him! Sousuke ground his teeth in frustration. _There has to be an easier way!_

xxxxx

**08:32 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Jindai High School, Tokyo, Japan**

**2****nd**** floor of the North Building, Class Room 4**

Shinji waved at his three friends as they walked into the classroom; the group exchanged greetings and started chatting between themselves. As Kyouko made small talk with a reluctant Kaname, Shinji engaged Sousuke with the latest Arm Slave information that he had gotten off the internet. Being the Arm Slave pilot that he secretly was, Sagara already knew these things his bespectacled friend was machine gunning at him. Instead of correcting the errors in Shinji's facts, Sousuke merely nodded his head absentmindedly in agreement as he repeatedly glanced over at Kaname. Shinji was about to ask him if there was something wrong with her when Miss Kagurazaka entered the room. Everyone took their seats before Kaname, as class rep. called the class to attention with the standard command of, "Rise and bow." So began another routine day for class 2-4.

Kaname surreptitiously peered back at Sousuke occasionally throughout the morning to make sure that a certain someone was still there in his seat behind her. She knew all too well how it tore at her heart every time he left on a mission and this morning wasn't any different. Yet somehow it was completely different. Her heart ached more whenever she thought about the idea of him having to leave her side again just before 'fall break' next week.

It really wasn't a normal school vacations, it started off with the cancellation of this Saturday's classes for the first and second year students. Then next week would start with two half days of school and then the students would be off till the following Monday. It was the school's way of giving the students a little break before the grueling task of studying for the end of term tests at the end of December.

Kaname had planned on working some part time jobs with her friends, and try to spend a little more time with Sousuke. But if he was leaving for another mission, she had no clue how long he would be gone. _Will I get to spend any time at all with Sergeant Serious next week?_ That's the question that had been haunting her for most of the morning.

The students kept checking the minute hand on the clock, bored out of the skull by the teacher's monotone voice. Just as the bell rang for lunch, the teacher finished the mind numbing lecture, and Kaname lead the class in the traditional standing and bowing half hearted. Once they were finished, most of the class rushed out of the classroom in the daily stampede to the pastry vendor. A few of the students had brought their own lunches, not wanting to be trampled by other students and settled in groups to eat with friends. Kyouko turned to Kaname and asked "Are you going to get something to eat?"

"I guess so......" she replied, almost mentally exhausted.

Kyouko glanced over at Sousuke, silently hinting that he should get her something to eat.

Sousuke stood up, uncertain of what to do. Nervously, he asked Kaname "W-would you like me to get you something to eat? Maybe a croquette sandwich and a custard pastry..."

She turned slightly in her seat with a faint pink blush coloring her cheeks and looked back at the uneasy solider, _Damn it, Sousuke, why do you have to be so damn sweet right now? _Before she even realized it, the words slipped from her lips, "Sure, I would like that."

Sousuke snapped to attention, "Yes Ma'am!" as he sharply turned and headed out the door. Shinji smiled at the two girls before following his friend, giving the two girls a chance to talk.

Shinji quickly caught up to Sousuke and asked, "Is Kaname alright? She seems kinda distracted today."

Sousuke sighed, "I think she's worried about something, but I haven't been able to figure it out."

Seeing how lost Sousuke was, Shinji took pity and explained, "You know, Kyouko says Kaname acts like this every time you leave school. I've noticed it too, but the last time you left, I think was the worst I've seen so far." As they walked down the hallway together, Shinji saw Sousuke's increasingly confused look. He added, "I mean, usually Kaname seems like it doesn't even bother her that you're gone, but something was different that time. It was like she was trying really hard to act like she didn't care."

He thought for a moment about what Shinji had just said, "I wonder if that's it?" he quietly pondered aloud. _I know she doesn't like it when I leave on a mission, but ever since Hong Kong, I have made sure to let her know when I'm leaving. Even if Mithril had ordered me not to say anything to her, I still would tell her. After everything we've been through together, I owe her that much._

He started reflecting on the past week since the mission in Hong Kong. How he had hated being recalled back to the De Danaan, with orders not to say a word to Kaname! Orders that had made him lose his temper and smash his laptop to bits with a single punch. Orders that had him screaming top secret information to anyone that had been in hearing range, all in an attempt to get answers from the intelligence operative codename: "Wraith". Orders that had sent him spiraling into a deep depressed; so much so that he hadn't even been able to focus when he was dueling with Clouseau. It had been an abyss of darkness that had kept his mind drifting back to thoughts of Kaname, until the point he just couldn't take it anymore and had simply walked away from his mission and comrades.

Kaname had been all he could think about, all he could ever care about. Everything else seemed suddenly meaningless and unimportant.

Why had he felt this strongly about being pulled away from her at that time? He had known for a while now that he cared for her beyond the protector/protected boundaries. Ever since the school's class trip to Okinawa had been hijacked and Kaname was taken away by Gauron, he had suspected that Kaname was different. It had been those feelings that had made him disobey his orders to protect the students on the plane. Instead he had felt compelled to find and rescue Kaname.

But now this feeling seemed to be telling him so much more. Now it wasn't that he simply _cared_ for her; it was much stronger than that. It felt like a raging fire in his gut, starting off small at first, and then slowly growing to the point where it consumed him.

_Maybe it's some strange reverse form of Stockholm Syndrome…_

Was that the reason why he had felt compelled to kill Gauron in Hong Kong? His emotions had gone haywire when Gauron gloated about Kaname's death. Even though he emptied his Glock in to Gauron's body and escaped from that room, he had felt lost, as though life wasn't worth living without her in it. Nothing seemed to matter at all.

However, all of that had changed once he had seen her again, striding confidently down that deserted street toward him. It hadn't mattered that she was mad and hurt; neither had it been important that she had punched, elbowed, and kicked him. It had been the fact she was _there_, alive and safe that had finally brought him back from the emotional abyss he had fallen into. She had saved him again, brought him back to life, more so than he'd ever felt before.

_Could this really be love?_ Never having known what love really felt like, it was little wonder he was so confused. If so, he had to talk to her about it. _If_ he could get the words out, before any more time was wasted..............

"Earth to Sousuke…?"

Sousuke snapped out of his musings and glanced over at his friend with a puzzled expression. "What is it, Shinji?"

Shinji cleared his throat, "You're not going to start shooting if there's a large crowd at the lunch stand, are you?"

He thought back to the time Shinji referred to. The idea had briefly crossed his mind, but only if it was necessary. Recalling how angry Kaname had gotten that time, followed by the vicious beating he had received from the dreaded harisen, he changed his mind. "I think I will keep my gun in its place this time. I wouldn't want to get Kaname angry today. I suppose I'll just have to work my way through the crowd like a normal civilian." _That will be for the best since Kaname hasn't been herself today. No need to upset her by over doing it, as she called it, just to procure her lunch..._

xxxxx

Back in the class room, Kyouko pulled her chair up to Kaname's desk and sat down next to her. Kaname seemed to be lost in thought. _I hope he's not being called back again. I know after we got back from Hong Kong, he'd told me when he left for Merida Island. He did say that he'll tell me every time he has to leave, whether he tells me in person or on the phone. But he's been so damn secretive about what he's been doing after we get home from school these past few days. I really don't want him to leave, not now...._

"That was sweet of Sousuke to get you lunch, Kaname. Especially since you seem so distracted today." Kyouko teased with a playful tone in her voice.

Kaname took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before releasing it. She looked over at Kyouko and said, "Yes, I know..." Looking forlornly down at her desk, she sighed heavily. "You see, fall break is going to be starting next week and I'm pretty sure Sousuke is going to be leaving again just as it starts."

Kyouko nudged Kaname with her elbow and casted her a sly grin, "Why don't you ask him if he _is_ leaving soon? You'll never know unless you ask him, Kana."

Kaname nervously worked her fingers together, causing Kyouko to giggle. "You've been worrying about that all morning long, haven't you? No wonder you've seemed so distracted!" A playful glint sparkled behind the wide spectacles. "If I liked a guy, I would be asking what he had planned for fall break instead of dwelling on whether he's leaving or not."

She quickly turned toward her pig-tailed friend, "Who said I liked him _that_ way? He needs to study during this coming week so he can do better in school! Honestly, he's making me look bad as class rep with all these absences and the poor grades!"

Kaname was obviously still trying to hide her feelings for this military nut job of a Sergeant, but Kyouko wasn't buying it this time. She knew her best friend all too well, "Uh-hun, sure Kana, you're just worried about his school work, right?"

Kaname's head dropped like she was just hit with a harisen herself. "Is it that noticeable......" she asked in a defeated tone. _Maybe she's right, I should ask him if he is leaving or not._

"I don't know…" Kyouko pretended to play dumb, "only if someone is looking your way."

Kaname frowned in frustration. "I wonder if _he_ even noticed. I mean Sousuke can be so damn dense at times. I doubt that the idea of us doing something fun together has crossed that military otaku brain at all."

"Oh....." Kyouko grinned, "You're telling me that Sousuke doesn't think about you all the time? I wonder…"

Kaname rolled her eyes dramatically, "I'm not saying he doesn't think about me at all, it's just that his mind doesn't work that way. He doesn't have a romantic bone in his body. I mean, I could throw myself at him, and he wouldn't have a clue to the meaning of it."

"So your saying that Sousuke hasn't figured out that you like him yet?"

Kaname dejectedly hung her head, looking at floor under her desk, "Not one bit." _That idiot, can't he tell I like him... maybe… even love him?_

Looking straight into Kaname's eyes, Kyouko said in a very serious tone, "Maybe you're not trying hard enough for Sousuke to notice."

That's when Kaname sat back up in her seat with a disgusted look on her face, and snapped "How would you suggest I DO THAT??"

In an innocent tone and with a mischievous smirk, Kyouko teased, "Oh.... I don't know..."

Just then Sousuke and Shinji entered the class room. Talking on his cellphone, Sousuke placed Kaname's sandwich and pastry down in front of her before turning away. Kaname flushed a light shade of red after seeing what Sousuke had bought her. _He got it without shooting anyone or blowing anything up! _Shinji took the seat next to Kyouko and placed the food he was carrying on Kaname's smiled sweetly and thanked him for getting her some lunch also.

Sousuke stood in the rear right corner of the classroom, continuing to talk on the phone. "Yes... Yes... Yes, Sir... Understood, Sir... Thank you, Sir. Urzu 7 out." As he removed the earpiece, he noticed that Kaname was staring at him with an odd look. He met her coffee gaze with a questioning tilt to his head, causing Kaname to blush a darker shade of red. Sousuke walked up to her and asked, "Kaname, I would like to ask you....." He swallowed hard, sweat beginning to bead on his brow.

At that moment, a large boom is heard throughout the school, followed by a tremor which shook the school itself.

Kaname paused for a moment. Her eyes grew wide as all the rose color drained from her cheeks. _That wasn't what I think I it was... Sousuke, you idiot, you jerk!!!_

Sousuke looked around intently, senses on high alert. Kyouko and Shinji looked at each other trying to figure out what Sousuke had done now. The classroom speaker came to life with Miss Kagurazaka's voice yelling, "Sousuke Sagara, come to the down to the teacher's office immediately young man!"

Sweat began to pour like a waterfall down Sousuke's face after hearing this and the fire in Kaname's eyes didn't help things either. Kaname quickly pulled out her harisen.

_**SMACK!!!**_

The force of the blow to his head sent him cart-wheeling across the classroom and crashing into a wall, knocking him out cold.

_You military otaku moron, can't you go one day without blowing something up?_ "What the hell did you do this time, you stupid IDIOT!!!" she roared as she grabbed him by his shirt collar and dragged him out for the classroom.

Kyouko rolled her eyes with a sigh, "Kaname really does like him."

Still unable to comprehend the magnitude of Kaname's wrath Shinji just saw, "If that's how Kaname expresses she 'like' him, I'd hate to see how she would treat her enemies."

xxxxx

**Moments later**

**Jindai High School, Tokyo, Japan**

**1****st**** floor of South Building**

Miss Kagurazaka stood in the hall next to the teacher's storage room, shaking the unconscious Sousuke while yelling at him. The door to the teacher's storage room was blown completely apart, splinters of wood and pieces of glass laid scattered across the floor. Along the wall opposite from the room door below the blown out window, two male students lay sprawled out on the floor, unconscious, but alive nonetheless. Kaname stood nearby with her arms folded across her chest, her foot tapping angrily at a rapid pace and a scowl of disproval on her face while watching the furiously irate teacher screamed at Sousuke's limp body.

Just then, Student Council President Atsunobu Hayashimizu appeared with Ren following closely on his heels. With a pleased look on his face at the sight before him, he smiled politely at the teacher. "Miss Kagurazaka, would you kindly stop assaulting the Student Council Security Officer."

Miss Kagurazaka dropped Sousuke down on the floor, pointed to the obliterated door and said, "Mr. Hayashimizu, we are growing very tired of Mr. Sagara's antics. He cannot be allowed to continue destroying school property! His reckless acts are becoming quite bothersome to the staff at this school."

"On the contrary, Miss Kagurazaka," the student council president smiled before opening a small fan with that Japanese symbol for 'victory' on it. "Mr. Sagara actions this time are in accordance with the Student Council's wishes."

Miss Kagurazaka's and Kaname's jaws both drop wide open in utter shock. Kaname recovered first and spat," Senpai Hayashimizu, I don't remember anything being said about Sousuke blowing up the teacher's storage room."

Closing his fan with a snap and using it to push his glasses up on his face, Hayashimizu authoritatively stated, "Of course not, Miss Chidori, this matter was kept in secret between Mr. Sagara, Principal Tsuboi, and myself. As Mr. Sagara pointed out, there was a chance that the word would leak out about our clandestine operation."

Kaname looked dejected for being left out of the loop on this one. _Since when is the student council vice-president left out of important meetings?_ "A clandestine operation?"

Hayashimizu turned to look down at the two immobilized students on the floor. "Yes, it was brought to my attention that some of our senior class students had a copy of the answer sheet for the National Senior Mid-term Exam. That they were planning on redoing their exam with those answers to increase their scores. I informed Principal Tsuboi of this information immediately. She told me that if this information was indeed true, it would be devastating to our school's reputation if any word had leaked out about our students' actions. And she would have no choice but have the _entire _senior class retake the exam during the first days of 'fall' break. So I discussed the matter with our Principal and asked her to give the Student Council time to catch these students in the act, which she agreed to, but only gave me to the end of business today to apprehend the guilty parties." Pointing down at the still unconscious Sousuke, Senpai Hayashimizu continued, "I had a meeting with Mr. Sagara, which he advised me that setting a trap and releasing false information about where the exam books were located would be the most effective way of catching these students in the act."

Kaname looked down at Sousuke, the feeling guilt starting to overtake her form for knocking him unconscious. _I hope I didn't hit him too hard, he's been out for while already. _She knelt down beside him to check on him. Placing her hand on his forehead, _I really did hit him hard this time. Damn it............_

Miss Kagurazaka was also feeling a bit ashamed of how she had treated Sousuke. She looked over at the Student Council President and said, "I can understand the need to capture these students red handed, but this is still a bit excessive."

Senpai Hayashimizu knelt down to looked over the two male students lying on the floor and picked up a set of lock picks from one student's hands. Returning to his former stance, he showed the lock picks to Miss Kagurazaka and stated, "If these students had achieved their goals, the teachers with the _lesser_ tenure would have to be here with the senior class while they retook the Mid-term exam during the fall break." Hayashimizu's words flowed from his lips smooth and evenly, to drive his point home toward the teacher.

The Student Council President's implication wasn't missed by Miss Kagurazaka. The unpleasant thoughts ran through her mind, the idea of having to spend the first couple of days during the fall break working long days instead of enjoying her precious vintage little Mini Cooper.

Senpai Hayashimizu followed up by affirming, "Mr. Sagara's actions are well within the boundaries stated to him by myself. Capture the perpetrators red handed in a nonlethal fashion. Besides, don't you think a few broken windows and a door are better than blowing up the whole storage room, shooting up the lunch line, or dismantling a teacher's car?"

Both Miss Kagurazaka and Kaname realized that the student council president was correct in his statements.

Sousuke slowly parted his eyes as he started to regain conscious thought. Things were fuzzy at first, but he could tell Kaname was knelt down beside him, with her body facing him. As his eyes began to focus he caught an unexpected sight._ Pink…?_

"Are you alright, Sousuke?" Kaname inquired.

With a hard swallow, "I'm fine." Sousuke quickly leaned forward and surveyed the area around him, only to find that he was lying on the hall way floor outside of the teacher's storage room. Grimacing at the dull pain throbbing in his head, it became clear to the solider why he didn't remember leaving the class room. _Ouch... that still hurts. _Kaname quickly helped him to his feet. Sousuke then turned with a snap to Hayashimizu, "Our clandestine operation was successful from the look of evidence here, your Excellency. Although, I wasn't exactly confident that six concussion grenades would be enough without prior knowledge of the size of the enemy forces."

"Yes indeed Mr. Sagara. You've done a fine job with capturing the culprits red handed." Senpai Hayashimizu told Sousuke proudly, and added "I will have these students brought before the Student Council and conference with Principal Tsuboi on how to punish them."

Miss Kagurazaka entered the storage room and began opening the filing cabinet. "I'm just glad the exams are safe and sound."

Realizing what Miss Kagurazaka was doing, Sousuke screamed "Not good!!" before tackling Kaname to the floor.

Senpai Hayashimizu raised his arm to gently guide the Student Council Secretary, Ren Mikihara, back a couple of steps.

Flocks of birds took to flight while every car alarm in the surrounding area sounded as the second explosion rocked the school… its foundation... and the other buildings on the school grounds.

"Interesting." Senpai Hayashimizu simply stated.

xxxxx

**13:26 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Jindai High School, Japan **

**2****nd**** floor North Building**

As Kaname and Sousuke walked back to class, she still feeling little embarrassed for her outburst earlier and not being one to admit to it when she wrong. She was having a hard time getting the words out since they left the first floor. The conflict within her finally came to a head when she turned to him and said, "Look, I'm sorry for the way I acted back in class earlier. I know you're not as bad at destroying things as you were a few months ago. But that second trap was a still little over the top."

Sousuke pondered her words for a moment, _I only used six concussion grenades on the door, and the shape-charged explosive in the draw was to catch any one that made it pass them. Maybe it was a little over the top, just… maybe... a little... _He turned to Kaname, "Still... the traps were very effective, the perpetrators were caught without the exams being compromised and the school's reputation will remain intact."

"I guess so.... even if the school's foundation won't." Kaname replied mildly annoyed by the soldier's comment. _I really wish he would stop splitting hairs. _

When they entered the class room, they saw that Maya and Mizuki had joined Kyouko and Shinji in eating their lunch. Kaname took her seat, looking down at the croquette sandwich that Sousuke had bought for her, still sitting in its wrapper.

Kyouko looked over to Kaname, and asked, "Is everything OK?"

"Yes..." Kaname said with a smile on her face. Then she remembered that Sousuke was going to as ask her something and turned suddenly to face him. "What were you going to ask me earlier, Sousuke?" she asked with a curious tone in her voice.

Sousuke stiffened up in his seat, "Oh yes... I wanted to ask you..." he gasped out. _I can do this. Breath, I can do this._

Still curious, she smiled while tapping her toe impatiently. "Yes...?"

Snapping to attention, he pushed his chair back some and stood, sweat forming on his brow, hands clenched at his side, and looking forward to the front of the class, he said in a rushed military tone, "I wanted to ask you what your plans were for fall break next week, Miss Chidori!"

Kaname's jaw dropped in sheer shock before quickly recovering to answer, "I… I don't have anything planned as of yet."

_Flash_. Kyouko managed to get a picture of Kaname's gasping face.

Sousuke was still standing at attention, a little less stiff, and now gazing down into her deep chocolate eyes. "I'd like to invite you to accompany me on a road trip!"

_Flash, _another picture.

Kaname jumped a little in her seat, the thought of them getting away from everyone and everything sounded wonderful. But thoughts of the last time he had asked her to go away to a 'south pacific island', crept into her head. "A road trip....?" she muttered skeptically.

Shinji couldn't believe his fellow otaku's question; Maya and Mizuki were as taken back by the boy's request.

Sousuke relaxed a little bit more. After seeing that she hadn't started to object to the idea, he explained, "Yes, it will be just the two of us this time. No one else, I promise."_It will__ be just us this time, no Weber, no Mao, no Mithril. Well...., _he thought to himself_._

Kyouko and the other girls all squealed excitedly, "How romantic!!!" Shinji was still bewildered by Sousuke, but smiled for his friend's brave question.

Kaname, almost red at the idea, whispered softly "Sousuke and me, alone..." She fought back the negative thoughts and let her mind wonder. _Has he figured it out finally? Is this his attempt at showing me he finally put two and two together and really got four? This could be the chance I've been waiting so long for! _She turned toward the window before telling him, "Yeah... Sure... I would like to go with you. This could be fun", with a smile of approval she ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it back over her left ear. The last thing she wanted to do was give everyone the impression that she was about to jump around like a kid at the carnival! The memories of their last 'trip together' began to flood back into her mind again as Kaname started a low nervous laugh, hiding her negative thoughts.

Sousuke sat back down in his chair, feeling like a ton of bricks had just been lifted off of his shoulders. Feeling more confident and at ease, he stated, "Then it's settled, I'll pick you up this Saturday at 9:00 am."

"What about school next Monday and Tuesday?" she asked. She knew those were half days, but she still wondered about them.

With a strong feeling of confidence, he simply answered, "It's not a problem."


	2. It’s the Little Things That Matters

A/N: I do not own Full Metal Panic, nor do I own the copyrights to any vehicles and/or equipment mentioned in this story. I only own the plot… and that's still up for debate.

**Full Metal Panic! Road Trip**

_Chapter: 2 _

_It's the Little Things That Matters_

**November 1, 17:09 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Chofu, Tokyo, Japan**

**Tamagawa Station shopping district**

The sun hung low in the western sky that late afternoon; only a few clouds dared to mar the serene beauty of the horizon. Still, it was a picture perfect fall day as Sousuke and Kaname walked side by side as they headed toward their apartments, like they always did. That is, of course, if Kaname wasn't in one of her _moods, _which usually meant that Mr. Sagara was at fault somehow. But it wasn't the case on that day. Both of them walked down the side walk with their heads and spirits high.

They walked close enough that their hands would occasionally brush against each other, causing Sousuke to stiffen up and then relax again. _I don't know why I still react this way. It's just Kaname's hand, her soft smooth hand. I want to hold it; I want to feel her hand in mine, my rough and calloused hand. _He clenched his fist. _Why is this such a hard thing for me to do? This should be an easy task, like grabbing a grenade. Then again, a grenade won't explode unless the pin is pulled… Kaname on the other hand..._ He sighed heavily at that thought before mentally shaking it away._ I just don't want this moment to end._

He peered over at Kaname, who was gazing at a picture of a tropical island in one of the store windows. Her expression became a bit somber. She glanced at him, looking for reassurance and asked, "Sousuke, when you said just the two of us, you meant no Mithril, right?" _This better not involve Tessa, missions, submarines or Arm Slaves in any way if he knows what's good for him._

"Affirmative, it will be just you, me and no one else." he replied easily. _Got to make sure that pin doesn't fall out of the grenade and explode on me. That would really ruin this moment!_

Kaname looked back into Sousuke's slate grey eyes. "This isn't going to turn into what happened the last time you asked me to go some place with you, right?" _I had my heart set on us getting to know each other better that time. Not having to jump out of a plane; nor being shot at or having to gain back control of the De Danaan. I just wanted it to be a quite time for Sousuke and me._

Sousuke cleared his throat, "I don't foresee any danger this time. It will be just us two alone, without anyone from Mithril or school getting in the way. Although...." _Maybe I should tell her the real reason for this trip. Better now than surprising her later with the information. That would definitely cause her to be really angry with me. _

Kaname glanced over with a raised eyebrow, "Although...?" she asked in a soft, curious but somewhat irritated tone. _I_ _hate it when he does that, leaving me hanging like that. What is he really thinking?_

Clearing his throat again, Sousuke took a deep breath, "Although the main purpose for this trip _was_ a covert op...."

Kaname stopped in her tracks, fists clenched, the expression on her face showed her true feelings at the moment. Any joy she had about them going on this trip had just washed away from her face. _Goddamn it... That idiot.... This wasn't going to be some romantic getaway.... just another goddamn Mithril mission...._

"Kaname..?" Sousuke stopped to see the tears that were welling up in the deep chocolate pools of her eyes and swallowed hard. _Shit... there goes the pin.... I have got to get the pin back in this grenade, quickly...._

"What am I, just some cover for you to complete your damn mission, you IDIOT!" Her words had a sharp edge to them. Tears began to run down her face as she reached for her harisen. _I'm going to make you pay for the pain you're causing my heart. You are soo going to pay! You __military otaku, you idiot, you heartless jerk!!! _She pulled out her harisen with her right hand, brought it back over her head while locked on to Sousuke. _I'm going to make sure you hurt more than my heart does right now._

Sousuke broke out in a cold sweat. His steel colored eyes took on the classic 'deer in the headlights of a speeding semi-truck' look. _Not good... there goes the spoon... I need to disarm this situation now..._

_**Thwack!!!**_

She smacked him hard across his face. Sousuke's head barely moved from the hit he just took from her harisen. The worrisome look on his face was now replaced with an intense gaze.

Kaname was mesmerized by the heavy anguish in his eyes. But it wasn't a physical pain that lay in those stormy pewter eyes. In fact, he barely seemed to even register the strike to his face. No, this was something else; this was something deeper that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Sousuke reached for Kaname's right wrist and yanked her quickly into a small alley between two of the stores. Making sure to keep a position that would essentially block prying eyes from seeing Kaname, he whirled her around to face him. She had a shocked expression on her face by this sudden action of his. The azure haired girl looked down at her wrist in Sousuke's hand, with tears still running down her face as Sousuke quickly checked around to make sure no one was around or had followed them into the ally to see what just happened.

The intensity of his deep gaze made it seem like Sousuke was trying to peer into her very soul, "Kaname, you've misunderstood what I was saying to you."

Kaname met the gaze of his warm steel grey eyes with her own hurt-filled eyes, still feeling the pain in her heart, "What's to misunderstand? I'm just a cover for your next mission! Something..." the feeling of emptiness engulfed her as her hopes and dreams for the upcoming trip rapidly evaporated in to thin air. "Anyone could have done or anyone could do!" she barked at him as the tears started to fall onto her uniform.

"That's not it at all, Kaname" he snapped back at her. _Why do you have to jump to conclusions? _"Yes, when I was given this mission, I was told to keep it covert. Mithril's Tactical Division doesn't trust the Intel Division much anymore. I was ordered to travel to the west coast of Japan to check out the observation outposts and help install the upgrade on the encryption codes. I informed Lt. Commander Kalinin that unless I could take you along with me that someone else should be assigned to the task. If I went alone you would be vulnerable again. I still don't trust Wraith. What I didn't tell him was I really wanted to spend the break with you..." His left fist was trembling with frustration as the sweat coated his brow in a slight sheen. The look in his eyes pleaded to her heart to trust him.

All these signs conveyed to Kaname his feeling of hatred at even the slightest thought of leaving her side so soon again. With that and his statement, Kaname loosened her grip on the harisen. His words and actions drove the point home to her. _He would refuse his orders if I wasn't allowed to come along with him? He's __never__ refused his orders before! He's always gone along with them, even if he didn't like them...._

Sousuke released Kaname's wrist and let his hand drop to his side. _I'm on a roll... don't stop... keep moving forward... make sure she understands that she means more to me than this mission. I am a Specialist. Even though the mission must be completed, I'm going to do it with Kaname or not at all. _Running his hand through his hair, Sousuke released a long, heavy sigh, "That's what has kept me so busy these past few days. After I made sure you're safely ensconced in your residence, I've been working with Kurz on getting the details and mission requirements planned out. I'm very inexperienced at these so-sorta things. I-I just wanted to make sure you had a good time. I know you were disappointed with how things turned out the last time…" His hands were clenched and slowly released with the slight note of apprehension in his word as his voice faded away. By this point, Sousuke was blankly staring down at her feet, hiding his eyes from her with his dark brown bangs.

Kaname put her harisen away, and put her arms around the soldier's neck, embracing him. "Idiot... you always wait till the last moment to say something nice." Her words were muffled by her face being buried in Sousuke's chest.

"Roger," Sousuke murmured as he moved his hands carefully around to the small of Kaname's back, one of them stroking her long silky mane. _Whew... that was close.... That grenade nearly exploded right in my face!_

Kaname held onto Sousuke until her tears ran dry. Time seemed to slow for them at that moment. _He's holding me... he's really holding me... Or am I dreaming all this? _She pushed herself back, releasing herself from the embrace, which turned out not to be a dream at all. Sousuke was very reluctant to let her go, but he complied with her silent request. She wiped her eyes before running a hand through her hair.

"Sousuke, sometimes you're so dense," She stated, smiling at him as the sun shone down on them. Her sparkling eyes revealed the joy that had returned to their chocolate depth. "But sometimes, you're so damn sweet."

"Uhhh....." Sousuke was taken back a bit by Kaname's comment and was not sure how to respond to this, "Thank you?"

"Idiot…" She muttered as she shook her head at him. "OK, let's get home." She gently grabbed Sousuke by the hand and led him back to the sidewalk. He followed her, not protesting about being led like a dog.

Sousuke smiled to himself, enjoying the feel of Kaname's hand in his._ Well, at least I got my moment back…_

xxxxx

**17:23 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Chofu, Tokyo, Japan**

**Outside the Maison K apartments**

A little while later, as they were standing where Sousuke had met Kaname that morning, she turned toward him and asked, "Are you going to come up?"

He looked down at her feet and sighed, "No… I need to finish up my preparations for this trip. Besides, aren't Kyouko and the others coming over to your apartment soon?"

"Yeah, they should be here in about 20 minutes..." she sheepishly answered him. _I want him to be there when we go shopping. _"But I understand that you're putting a lot of thought and effort in to this road trip for me...."

Sousuke looked back at Kaname, seeing her long blue hair blowing in the breeze. "If you need _anything_, I'm just a phone call away. Don't hesitate to call for any reason."

"OK, I hope to talk or see you later then."

"I'll see you tomorrow if not later tonight..." He watched Kaname walk into the lobby of her apartment building before turning to walk across the street.

xxxxx

**A few minutes later**

**Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan**

**Tiger Maison, Parking lot **

Instead of entering his complex, Sousuke headed around toward the back of his building to the parking lot. There sat a large box truck that his squad had been issued when they first received orders to protect 'Angel.' At first it had been used to hide the M9 Sergeant Major Moa requested for their mission. It also had been the vehicle that he used when ordered to pull out of Tokyo, forbidden to see or speak to Kaname again. Now it was a simple reminder that he was back and things were going be done his way concerning her protection.

Next to the truck, sat a car concealed with a gray car cover. He approached the car, studying it for any evidence of tampering.

_Good, looks like no one has messed with it... _He leaned over to pull the cover off of the front end, revealing the car's snow white paint and the blackish gray carbon fiber aero hood. The words 'Top Secret' adorn in black letters on the front mount intercooler. Sousuke knelt down beside the right side front fender and peered at a tire that barely fit under the car. Inspecting the gold color and the perfectly polished machined lip of the six-spooked, rotating display window known as the rim, he noticed the word 'Volk' laser etched into one of the spokes. _How did Kurz talk me in to buying this absurd vehicle...?_

As he pondered, Sousuke's mind drifted back to a couple of days ago, when Kurz asked him, "_So, have you put any thought into how you and Kaname are going to be traveling?" _

_I was sitting at the table with the laptop in front of me when I replied "Yes, I was thinking of taking the train. But there would be a lot of equipment to carry around."_

_Kurz rolled his eyes. "You know if you want this trip to mean something to Kaname, you need to think harder. I mean a train is nice and all, but a car would be a lot more intimate for you both. Plus you wouldn't have to carry everything with you all the time."_

_It still confused me every time I thought about being close to Kaname. I broke out in a cold sweat again and after clearing my throat, I replied, "Yes, I'll start looking for a car we can use." I went to working on the laptop again._ _A few minutes later, I informed Kurz "I narrowed down the selection of cars that would fit our needs appropriately."_

_Kurz walked over; leaned over my shoulder and let out a loud sigh as he looked down at the screen. "OK, Sergeant Serious; is it your mission to bore Kaname to death? I mean there's nothing wrong with a Toyota BB, Honda Fit, or Nissan March. But, come on man, those things go 0 to 60 in __theory__! Hell, I'm sure Kyouko would even think they're cute for a while."_

"_Well, I looked for something practical..."But before I could finish talking, Kurz jumped in again, like he always does, "See man, you're always thinking logical and not with your heart. You lose cool points for that one, bro."_

_What did he mean by 'Cool points'? Nevermind, Kurz pushed me to the side and worked the keyboard on the laptop. "This is what I would want to drive if I was taking my girl on a trip"_

_Swallowing hard at the thought of Kaname being my girl, as pleasant as that would be, I looked at the screen Kurz had just brought up. It was a list of those Japanese sport cars, many of which I've noticed on the streets around this area which were modified to appear as though they were rolling billboards for Japanese tuning companies._

"_Now look at this one," Kurz clicked the cursor on a white two door Nissan. "This one looks sweet, man. Hmmm... It's been tuned by Top Secret engineering; the engine has been completely reworked with some high performance parts." Kurz read on about this car out load."It seems pretty well balanced, lightweight, with a completely tuned suspension and brakes. Man, I'd love to take this one for a spin on the Autobahn or the Aquiline." When he reached the bottom of the page, Kurz smiled like that funny looking cat that disappears I saw once in an American cartoon movie with Kaname. "And, it's for sale!! That's pretty cheap for a car that has a setup like this." He added._

_Next thing I knew, Kurz had dragged me out of the safe house and down to the car dealership to look at this white Nissan. The dealer told us how the last owner of this car had lost his license because of how fast and agile the car was. _

_Before I could ask any questions, Kurz was asking for the keys and pushing me into the passenger seat. Then we were racing down the express way passing cars left and right. Kurz was impressed with how fast the car accelerated with little effort and how it handled tight corners, even sliding the car controllably sideways, 'drifting' as Kurz called it, through an on ramp over twice the posted speed limit. It made me think about the little truck Kurz and I "borrowed" during the A21 mission and the little Fiat I used to help Melissa and Kurz escape from the Mob. Both of those vehicles didn't have anywhere near the power this Nissan has. Those two were barely able to keep us out of harm's way, let alone out run our pursuers at those times._

_Once we were back at the dealership, Kurz asked me what I thought about the car. Which I honestly responded, "I like the car's performance, but I think it's absurd."_

"_Oh?"_

"_The metallic white paint, the ridiculously large wing mounted on the trunk, it's loud and sounds like a swarm of angry bees. Also, it used one-fourth of its fuel capacity during the test drive. I don't think it fits the mission parameters. The car will attract too much attention."_

"_Yeah, like some gun wielding high school student that has no common sense of life in Japan or a mini AS disguised as a theme park mascot doesn't attract too much attention." Kurz knew how to push my buttons and he had a point there. "Look Sousuke, I know you didn't have a normal upbringing. But most __normal__ teenage boys your age would sell their soul for a car like this. I know I would have when I lived in Edogawa. Besides, Kaname would be very impressed with you if you bought this car." I trusted his advice about fitting in to normal life in Japan, so out came my credit card. _

_While Kurz and the dealer did the paper work for the car, I popped the trunk, almost smacking myself in the chin with the large rear carbon fiber wing mounted on the trunk lid. Kurz did say that this thing did provide additional stability at higher speeds. "At least it has a decent amount of trunk space for my gear" I muttered to myself as I closed the trunk._

Sousuke backed out of these thoughts, stood up and recovered the car. Turning to walk back to his apartment, he noticed Kurz leaning casually against the back of the large truck.

"I wondered where you went off to." Kurz said to Sousuke, "I was expecting to see you come up to the apartment right after you dropped off Kaname."

Sousuke glanced back at the car with uncertainty. "Kurz, don't you think this is over doing it?"

Kurz could see that the sergeant was being his usual moody self, "Man, this isn't the time for cold feet! Don't forget what you're doing this for." Placing his hand on Sousuke's shoulder and giving it a supportive squeeze, he said, "This is for you and Kaname! That's why I've been helping with all the details, even while you're at school."

Sousuke frowned as he still had doubts, _Kaname will know this isn't something I thought up._

Pushing Sousuke forward, Kurz chuckled at his somber friend. "Come on. Melissa is up stairs with dinner waiting on us."

Sousuke tried to clear his mind of any remaining doubts. _I've never done anything like this before. I hope Kaname will appreciate what I'm doing and not laugh at me…_

Noticing the doubt in the sergeant's eyes, Kurz slapped Sousuke on the back with his hand. "Man, you have got some serious self-esteem issues!"

xxxxx

**17:46 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Chofu, Japan**

**Maison K, 4****th**** floor, Condo #404**

Meanwhile, Kaname was finishing her preparations for her shopping trip and had already discarded her school uniform for a white short sleeved blouse and faded jean capri's. As she pulled her hair up into a high pony-tail, tying it up with a red ribbon, her mind wandered. _I wish Sousuke would come along with us. But, I know what he would say. "This is something I have no experience in helping you with." Instead of trying, he would just tell me "no." I know he is preparing for our trip, but he doesn't have to stay away from me this much._

A knock at her door rang out and without thinking, she approached the door the same way Sousuke would, minus the gun of course or the intent of filling the person on the other side with bullet holes. Peering through the peep hole, she spotted Kyouko, Mizuki and Maya standing at the door. Kaname opened the door after slipping on some red sandals. They all greeted each other. "Where is Sousuke?" Kyouko asked.

Kaname smiled a bit. "He's taking care of some last minute things, so he won't be joining us today." _Even though I would love to have him around for this; did I say 'love'??? _

As they headed for the stairs, Maya said, "Besides, this is girl time! We don't need _that_ guy ruining this. Only god knows what Sousuke would shoot or blow up if he thought something was amiss."

The girls all chuckled over Maya's comment. "So... Kaname," Kyouko inquired in a mischievous way, "Where is Sousuke taking you on this trip?"

"Well, all he'll tell me is that we're going to be on the west coast of Japan," Kaname answered, smiling. "He's been kinda secretive about the whole thing." _Well not that secretive, but he hasn't been very detailed about what __we__ will be doing..._

"I've heard the beaches from Matsue all the way down to Fukuoka are nice this time of year. It shouldn't get cold there till the end of November" Mizuki informed her. "If that is what he has planned, you're going to need a new swim suit."

"But I have a bikini already," Kaname stated. _Even though that knuckle head didn't say anything about how I looked in it._

Mizuki scowled at Kaname. "If you're talking about that white one I gave you last summer, that won't cut it this time." Maya nodded in agreement.

"You need something that will keep that boy's eyes glued to you the whole time," Mizuki added, acting like little miss-know-it-all about the subject.

As the girls walked through the lobby of Kaname's apartments, she shot back defensively, "I don't want to look like a tramp!" _Of course I would feel like some cheap geisha if he didn't notice......_

The girls all looked at her, wondering where her mind was. They exited the building and Maya injected, "I don't think Mizuki was talking about a bikini _that_ small, I'm sure she has some better taste than that."

The girls headed down the street to the Tamagawa train station of the Keio rail line and Kyouko looked over at her long time friend, "Kaname, how are you two going to be traveling?"

"I guess we'll be going by train." Kaname answered her. _Not like Sousuke would rent a car or anything and if he wants to keep Mithril out of the picture, I don't think he would have them fly us around..._

Maya looked back at Kaname. "But didn't he say this was a road trip? That would imply you two would be driving or riding."

Kaname pondered Maya's comment. _That would be the point of saying "road trip". I can just see that military manic showing up in a jeep, a tank or the Arbalest. The last time I rode with him in an Arm slave, I was in its hand! _Kaname conjured the mental image of riding in the hand of Arbalest as Sousuke piloted it over the Japanese landscape, laughing to herself about the idea. _That wouldn't be very romantic, but who am I kidding; this is Sousuke we're talking about… I suppose a jeep wouldn't be __too__ bad. Just as long as it isn't one of those army jeeps from one of those old war movies, that would be a bit too rough._

Kyouko snapped her friend out of her dream as they got on the train. "Anyway, I'm just glad he wants to do something with you on fall break. I never thought he would be so bold to ask you out, let alone on a trip."

"Yeah, I'm just glad he's not leaving without me," Kaname agreed, smiling at the memory of Sousuke actually asking her to go with him.

xxxxx

**19:33 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan**

**Tiger Maison, apartment 505**

Later, back at Sousuke's apartment, also known as the Safe House, after dinner Melissa was sitting back in a chair with a cold beer in her hand and smoking a cigarette. Kurz sat on the other side of the table while working on the laptop. Several empty beer cans were piled up on the table, forming a small pyramid. Melissa looked over when she heard Sousuke enter the main room, after being in the bathroom. "It's about damn time you got changed. Geez... I spent all day shopping for you."

"Why did you buy me these clothes, Mao?" Sousuke asked his Sergeant Major. The confused look on his face told her she had done the right thing.

She put out her cigarette, slightly irritated by Sousuke's question, "Cause you don't have any nice clothes. All you have are school and military uniforms." She downed her beer, "Hell, you don't even have a causal pair of shoes." She added, pointing to the jump boots and oxfords in his closet.

"It's not like he has ever thought about dressing up before, sis." Kurz interjected, looking up from the computer for a minute.

Sousuke cleared his throat, "That is incorrect, Melissa, I have a 'date uniform' I wore once on a mission." _Even though I knew it wasn't a real date. Kaname was upset about the whole thing to begin with..._

"Oh, okay. So you're only going to wear that one outfit the _whole_ week you're with Kaname?" Melissa snapped at him, "And what? Even _sleep_ in it?" Kurz handed her another beer after she lit another cigarette.

Sousuke started to sweat bullets. "Uhhh.... I never thought about that...." _Melissa is right. I'm not good with any of these 'dating rules.' I know Kaname and Mizuki tried to tell me this before, but since I wasn't dressing up for Kaname, I really didn't care; but now..._

Melissa snapped her fingers to call Sousuke over in to full view. Sousuke stood there at full attention, like a model soldier. "Relax, dumb ass," she barked. Sousuke was wearing a pair of tan cargo pants with a white button down shirt. "You look handsome, but you don't always need to have the shirt buttoned all the way up and just fucking _relax_." she snapped at the young Sergeant, before taking a drink from her beer.

Sousuke tried to relax more as Kurz looked up from the computer again, "Not bad Sousuke, not bad at all." The blond Sergeant then looked over at Melissa and asked, "Hey Melissa, why didn't you wait till Sousuke got home before you bought him new clothes?"

She quickly shot a glance at Kurz. "It was just easier to buy what I knew would look good on him. I didn't want to have to worry about you playing head games and confusing the poor boy." She voiced with a grin, "Besides, if I let you pick clothes for him, he'd end up looking like some Miami Vice reject from the 80's." She took a long drag from her cigarette, blowing the smoke in Kurz's direction.

Kurz's eye twitched with the sting of her comment, "Thanks a lot, Sis."

"You're welcome," she retorted, smiling because she knew that she gotten on Kurz's nerves. "OK, Sousuke, next outfit." She handed him a pair of faded blue jeans and a light blue button-down shirt with dark blue pin-stripes.

Sousuke took the clothes with a frown before looking down toward her, "Moa, none of these clothes you're having me try on have any tactical purpose. I mean they're loose enough for me to conceal my weapons without anyone noticing. But the colors will make me standout," this was said with a deadpan expression.

Kurz's and Melissa's heads both dropped together. Kurz chimed in, "Sousuke, just think of it as urban camouflage." Both of them drained their beers, and gave each other a look that said 'this might be a long night.'

"Wouldn't 'urban camouflage' be darker colors, like black and darker shades of gray? These are brightly colored and wouldn't do very well in concealing my position at night." As always, his thinking was entirely too logical.

Melissa lit yet another cigarette, staring at the brain dead idiot and asked, "Sousuke, you've been out in the jungle before, right?" After seeing his simple nod, she continued. "OK, did you ever wonder why male birds are more brightly colored than their mates?" The Sergeant Major hoped this kind of reasoning would get her point across.

Sousuke pondered the questions for a moment. "Yes, to distract predators away from their mates while they are hatching and raising their offspring and also most male birds are brightly colored to attract a suitable mate." he confidently declared. He began to sweat nervously at the word "mate."

Seeing that his reaction to her comment might have been getting him off track, she said, "That's right, male birds are brightly colored to attract a mate's attention. You want to attract _Kaname's_ attention, right??" Melissa snatched the beer Kurz just opened.

He nodded nervously, "Uh...." Swallowing hard to clear his throat, he questioned, "Shouldn't my personality be more than sufficient to get Kaname's attention?"

"Ya, if you don't mind her beating you within an inch of your life every once in a while." Kurz laughed.

_Whack! _Melissa smacked Kurz's forehead with the palm of her hand, "Watch your mouth asshole!" she snapped. Then she turned her eyes upon Sousuke, "Yes, that is very true Sousuke. But you need some backup when it comes to girls, _especially_ when it comes to Kaname. You want her positive attention, not the harisen, don't you?"

Sousuke quickly turned and headed back to the bathroom. _I never knew it would be this hard to try on clothes. This is the 5__th_ _outfit she has had me try on since I got home. But this is for Kaname, I will not fail..._

Kurz stretched his arms above his head, "Well that's finished. All their hotel's rooms are booked, and now to print out all the local attractions for them to see." After clicking the print icon, he rose to retrieve another beer from the fridge and popped it open.

Melissa peered over to Kurz after she took a long drag from her cigarette. "You didn't put them up at any cheap, sleazy love hotels, did you?"

"Of course not! I just want them to have an enjoyable environment that's all" Kurz answered, trying to hide his thoughts.

Melissa rolled her eyes. Reaching over quickly she turned the laptop to check out the hotels Sousuke and Kaname were booked at. Taking another long drag from her cigarette, she double checked the rooms. Nothing seemed mischievous or inappropriate, two of the rooms were suites at large hotels and the others were nice local inns on or near the beach. "I'm impressed, I'm surprised you didn't try to put them up in some love hotel." She had underestimated the sniper, but those times were few and far between.

Kurz leaned back in his chair acting very confident, "Yeah... I surprise myself at times, too." He took a big swig from the can of beer. "Besides, I knew you'd check the list anyway. If we left it to Sergeant Somber, they would end up camping out or using the 'safest' inns from Akita all the way down to Fukuoka. Now how much fun would that be?"

Melissa leaned back in her chair, once again taking another long drag from her cigarette and studied the ceiling while she spoke, "Sousuke never had our childhoods or early teen years. While we were getting the hang of dating, he was fighting in war zones. Instead of getting the 'birds and the bees' talk, he was learning to survive by any means necessary. I can't imagine what it could have been like for him back then." Her face revealed that she felt somewhat guilty for having a normal upbringing compared to her squad mate.

After emptying his beer, Kurz's head dropped back, "Knowing Sousuke, his first love was some old AK-47"

"Actually, it was an AKM," Sousuke corrected his blonde-haired friend.

Melissa and Kurz both looked over to see Sousuke wearing the jeans and blue shirt. This time the shirt wasn't buttoned all the way up.

Melissa got up from her chair and walked around the young Sergeant. The faded blue jeans fit him quite nicely, as she had guessed they would. The short sleeved shirt showed of the definition of his upper arms. "How does it feel?" she asked him.

He responded in a reporting like in manner, "The material is fine, I can move around without feeling restrained. However, I wasn't sure whether or not I should tuck in the shirt."

"That would depend on if you wanted to have a relaxed feeling. Leaving the shirt unbuttoned at the top and untucked shows confidence, being at ease with oneself." The woman smiled while viewing her handy work. "Tucking in your shirt tail shows you to be neat and clean, also a little uptight. For your purposes, I would suggest you leave the shirt un-tucked."

Kurz let out a whistle, "Going in for the kill, stud? Man, Kaname better watch out. You just might end up with her being even more jealous than normal."

Sousuke's cell phone rang in the background; he walked over and picked it up. Seeing Kaname's name on the caller ID, he answered his phone, "Hello, Kaname. Is everything okay there?"

Kurz and Melissa couldn't tell what Kaname was saying over the phone, but they watched Sousuke's actions.

Pondering the question he heard over the phone, Sousuke thought back to the first dating sim that Shinji had him play, remembering how the virtual girl had gotten upset when he had rejected her request to go shopping with her and how her reaction had befuddled him. He remembered what Kaname had told him after that. 'She wanted you to choose her swimsuit'.

_Could this be the same type of situation? How could I advise her on what to wear or what swimsuit looks nice on her? I don't have any experience in these areas! _

He really wished Mithril had a manual on girls right now. Thinking back to past events concerning this topic, he decided to go with his gut feeling, pushing his logic and normal answers to the side. Kaname's comment snapped him back to the present, causing him to say, "I could take some time to pay you a visit there, but I'm not any good at......."

Sousuke paused while listening to Kaname. His face set in determination, he stated, "I'll be there as soon as possible. Give me a few minutes to head out the door."

Kaname sounded joyful in her tone, though only Sousuke could hear what she was saying. "Okay, I'll find you there soon.... Good bye."

After that, Sousuke flipped his phone shut and let a sigh escape. He explained to his confused SRT mates, "Kaname wants me to join her for some shopping she's doing." The nervous expression on his face told his squad members he was not prepared for this. Sweat began to form around his face.

Melissa walked over and rested a comforting hand on Sousuke's shoulder. "Sousuke, this will mean something to Kaname. It's her way of maybe telling you that your thoughts and opinions matter to her. Just listen to your heart. Don't worry about if she's wearing something that makes you feel uneasy or embarrassed. Just tell her what you honestly think."

While still looking down at the floor, Sousuke asked, "What if I don't know what to think, this is something I'm not used to."

Kurz added his two cents in, "Just tell her she looks hot. I'm sure you've at least told her that before. When she wore that sexy little white bikini?"

Sweat began dropping from Sousuke's forehead. Kurz dropped his shoulders in disappointment. "Don't tell us you didn't say a word about that bikini she wore!?" Sousuke stood there silent.

"Man, no wonder she smacked the crap out of you. She's _trying_ to get your attention. She wants to know that you think she is beautiful and she _needs_ to hear you say it. Got it?" The tone in Kurz's voice was one of amazement. How dense _was_ his young friend?

Melissa turned Sousuke to face her. "God damn it, Sousuke. Kaname didn't wear that bikini for anyone but you. And you didn't say a damn thing about it to her? You'd better be thankful that me and Weber are here to pull your ass out of the fire this time." Her words hit Sousuke hard, much like the uncountable harisen smacks he'd gotten before.

Melissa knelt down and pulled a few items out of a bag next to the table where she had been sitting. She then tossed Sousuke a black leather belt and placed a pair of white and black tennis shoes on the table. She looked back at Sousuke, "What's your problem, get your ass ready." shouting in much the same way she barked orders.

Kurz peered into a bag by his foot, reached down and pulled out a small box. The cover of the box had the appearance of polished diamond plate. "Melissa, I see you went all out!"

"Hey, I like the smell of that stuff and I'm sure Kaname will too," she stated proudly as Melissa took the box from her blonde subordinate's hand. She walked over to Sousuke and took a small glass bottle out of the box. The bottle was filled with a light blue liquid. She sprayed the cologne on the young Sergeant's chest and down his front.

Kurz leaned over, "Sis, don't over do it. I'm sure Kaname will be eating out of his hand with that much, or any girl that within 500 meters of him."

Melissa smiled back at Kurz, "Isn't that the point?" After Sousuke finished getting ready, he placed his Glock 26 in the black leather holster at the small of his back. Three spare magazines were tucked into the leather pouch that rode next to the holster. Melissa tossed the teen the tennis shoes she bought.

Kurz reached for the Nissan's keys, but only to come up short as Melissa swept the keys off the table and informed him, "Sousuke's car so he's driving." She tossed the keys to Sousuke, which he caught with his right hand. "Oh and by the way, SHOTGUN!" the Sergeant Major proclaimed to her blonde Sergeant.

Kurz was completely frustrated by being out done which brought a smile to Melissa's face. "Bitch" is all he muttered softly, the idea of being in the back seat didn't sit well with him at all.

"That's _Miss_ Bitch to you, Kurzyee poo." Melissa chimed off.

The three ran out of the safe house and made their way down to the car. Sousuke and Kurz moved quickly to pull the car cover from it revealing the car's snow white paint. Melissa kicked Kurz's ass into the back seat with the car cover. Sousuke slide behind the leather wrapped steering wheel and fired up the engine. The engine raced a few times, before he put the transmission into gear. The turbo whistled with every push of the accelerator pedal. The engine revved up as Sousuke dumped the clutch. The sounds of spinning tires echoed off the surrounding buildings as he slid the car out of the parking lot and on to the street as the oversized rear tires vigorously fought a losing battle for grip. A loud popping sound escaped from the large exhaust tip which was the size of a coffee can along with a quick flash of a flame. The rear tires finally won their battle for traction as the Nissan sped off into the distance.

xxxxx

**Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan**

**Shibuya Square Shopping District**

For a Thursday evening in Tokyo's popular home for the younger generation's fashion and entertainment, this part of the city was still alive with activity over in one of the main shopping districts. With the amber glow of the sun that had just set in the west and the neon lights of advertisements and giant video screens heavily decorating the surrounding buildings, the area was bathed in a multitude of colors. The streets were filled with cars and motorcycles trying to make their way through the district and the amazingly large crowd of pedestrians, which was mostly made up of young adults and teens looking forward to another enjoyable evening.

Kaname and her friends moved along in the crowded sidewalk. Maya and Mizuki walked ahead of Kaname and Kyouko. The girls all had shopping bags in their hands. Maya and Mizuki chatted back and forth, until suddenly Mizuki turned her head back to Kaname while asking "Any idea of which store you want to buy a new bikini from?"

Kaname almost tripped at Mizuki's words. She really didn't want to get her hopes up and spend money on another bikini, only to have it go unnoticed. "I don't know...."

"I see," Glancing over to Maya, Mizuki continued, "We could go to that Pacific Coast store. They have a wide selection of swim wear, from one piece to string bikinis."

Catching on to Mizuki's thoughts, Maya chimed in, "Or are you planning on seeing if that white one will work on a certain boy again."

Feeling uneasy, Kaname fought for something to say. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.

Kyouko was not one for being left out when it came to her best friend. Trying to hide her elfish grin, she added, "Of course it might be handy to have more than one swimsuit. It could give you some options in seeing if a boy might like something else."

Maya and Mizuki both nodded their heads.

Kaname felt cornered; her friends had planned this attack, and they were playing their roles perfectly. They all acted as if this was simply the flow of conversation, but it seemed all too timely. Especially since the store Mizuki had mentioned was just a few stores down from them. She had thought a lot about buying a new bikini, but she was still uncertain about it. From the actions of her friends, it seemed that they had made her mind up for her. "I guess we can go look around. Maybe I'll find something that will get his attention."

Maybe she was getting her hopes up again; how would she know if she didn't try one more time? Sousuke _did_ ask her to come with him on this trip.

"I know," Kyouko was keep things interesting, "Why don't you see if Sousuke is still busy. You should ask him to come down and see what swimsuit he likes on you."

"…Or which one he would like to get you _out of_ quickly." Mizuki added with a sly smirk.

Kaname felt like someone just poured ice water down her back when she heard Mizuki's comment. She was a little self conscious about wearing a smaller bikini to begin with. The idea of Sousuke commenting on which bikini he liked her in stirred emotions deep inside her. However, the thought of making him sweat did seem appealing. She reached for her cell phone, pulled up Sousuke's number and swallowed hard with anticipation as she placed the phone to her ear. _It's ringing…_ Once, twice, half way through the third ring she heard Sousuke answer the phone. "Hello, Sousuke......" She was still unsure if he would come down here if she asked him too.

"Yes everything is just fine." _He sounds so concerned. Just have to ask him, don't get all tongue tied. "_I was just wondering if you had some time to come over to the Pacific Coast store. I would like to ask you something in person." _There, it's done, I've asked him._ But the silence from his end was unnerving. Fear crept up from the deepest part of her being. _Why wasn't he saying something, anything? Why didn't he just decline, saying 'I have no experience in this area to advise you...' or something that could give me some hope?_ Her heart beat increased rapidly.

"Sousuke......." she asked.

Sousuke's tone told her that he was nervous, but his answer completely took her breath away. He would come, that in itself was enough to send her hopes soaring and brought a smile to her face.

"That would be great, Sousuke. I look forward to seeing you soon." She could barely contain her joy. She took a deep breath; not wanting to let her friends see her explode uncontrollably or make a scene right there on the sidewalk. That idiot still could surprise her at times!

"Okay, Sousuke, good bye." She hung up the phone and looked back at her friends. Their facial expressions told her that they couldn't believe that Sousuke, the military otaku moron, was coming of his own free will, especially since Kaname didn't have to beg or threaten him either.

"What?" Kaname asked, kind of in a state of disbelief herself.

Kyouko was glad she had brought her camera along now.

Mizuki turned back around. "Well it's settled then. Pacific Coast here we come!"

Once in the store, the girls went about their business looking at different swimsuits and bikinis alike. Kaname looked over some bikinis on the wall. None of them really fit her style, either leaving nothing to the imagination or covering too much of her form. Kyouko held up one that looked nice. It was blue with silver trim, but the thong bottom would show too much of her derrière.

Kaname kept looking down at her watch. Time seemed to be standing still. It felt like a half an hour had past, it had only six minutes. As calm as she tried to appear, she was in anguish. Her breathing was faster than normal. Her mind drifted to a song her sister had sent her.

_'Here we are, we're at the beginning'_

_'We haven't fucked yet, but you have my head spinning_

_'Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?'_

_'Why can't I speak whenever I talk to you?'_

_'It's inevitable, it's fact that we're going to get down to it, so tell me...'_

Thoughts about those lyrics had Kaname blushing a deep shade of crimson. _True, we are at the beginning. And we really haven't.... done anything yet, not even.... kissed yet. There are many times he had me unable to breath and many more times that I couldn't think straight, either. _Did he really have that much of an affect on her? For all his faults, no matter how big, no matter how much they made her get angry with him, she knew deep down in her heart that she had feelings for that moron, that idiot, that soldier that always seemed to be there for her at the most important times. If things were inevitable, she might be truly happy once in her lonely life.

Kyouko snapped her back to the now, showing Kaname a blue string bikini with white trim. The blue was almost the same as her hair. Although the top would cover just enough of her breasts, the bottoms would show a lot of her hip. Kyouko wanted her to try it on. It wouldn't be too uncomfortable to wear, so she took the bikini from Kyouko and headed to the dressing room.

Once inside, she started to disrobe. As she was taking off her bra, she heard a noise from outside the store. She didn't pay attention to sound of three rapid booming sounds in the background. The girl paid even less attention to the sound of tires sliding to a stop.

She placed the bikini top around her breasts, tying it in front of her, and then turned it around before pulling the top strings up and tying them into a bow at the back of her neck. After adjusting the top to cover and make sure it supported her breasts just right, she removed her panties and pulled the bottoms on re-tying the strings at her hips. She made sure that all the necessities were covered before she looked into the mirror. Kaname noticed the top did lift her breasts up some, making them look fuller.

All of a sudden she heard Kyouko yell, "Over here Sousuke." This caused her heart to jump. _He was already here?_ Checking her watch she noticed that it had been only 23 minutes since she had gotten off the phone with him. There was no way he could have taken the train; the ride by itself was about 30 minutes long. It didn't really matter however, he was here. He had kept his word like always. She stepped out of the dressing room wanting to see him.

There he was, standing next to Kyouko. She was completely caught off guard by what she saw. He stood there, wearing faded jeans, a nice button down blue shirt and white with black trim tennis shoes. She had honestly expected him to still be wearing his school uniform. She wouldn't have guessed in a thousand years that he would be dressed so casual like any other _normal_ boy. He looked so handsome! Seeing Sousuke dressed this way did stir emotions deep in her heart. He did dress up for that damn faux date with Mizuki, but _this_ wasn't a date. _This_ was just meeting to get his thoughts on swim wear.

When she saw Maya and Mizuki walk up next to him, she felt that her friends might be standing a bit too close for the naïve Sagreant's own good. Their faces told her that something was different about him right now, something outside of the norm.

Kaname walked out so that she could get a better view of Sousuke. When she stopped, she was within a few feet of him. That scent coming from him, it was beyond nice… it begged her to move closer to him.

It made her want to be held tightly.

She wanted to feel _his_ arms around her.

_When the hell did he start wearing cologne? _That thought went stampeding through her mind. The cologne in question wasn't some overly musky smell, but a fresh, inviting aroma. She felt a fire start down around her belly as the bikini clad girl blushed at her inner most feelings. Naughty thoughts ran rampant through her mind of what she would like to do with this young military nut. This was so unlike her in so many ways, but seeing Sousuke like this was so very much unlike him...

Their eyes met across the rack of swimwear; his steel-grey eyes staring back into her warm chocolate brown pools. There was an intensity there that made her gasp… The moment felt like it could have lasted forever. If not for Sousuke facing up toward the ceiling with a dark red blush across his cheeks, it just might have. Sweat started forming on the sides of his face and he seemed at a loss for words, "Kaname........... you ........ look........" That was all he managed to get out.

Blushing an even darker red than she had been. Kaname remembered what she was wearing. She had the urge to retreat back to the changing room, but her curiosity demanded her to stay. Bowing her head slightly while still staring deeply into his grey eyes as he fought for his words, she prodded timidly, "I look what, Sousuke?"

"Uh......."

"Sousuke?" She was becoming very uneasy.

"Uh.........."

"Sousuke........." She felt like her heart was about to fall. Her temper wouldn't let herself feel this way for long.

"Uhhh...... you....... look......" He knew what he wanted to say, but his mouth was failing him miserably.

Kaname's temper grew along with the pain in her heart. "Yes, Sou..suke..?" she growled through gritted teeth. By now she was staring at the floor as her foot tapped impatiently.

Sousuke, shoulders straight, swallowed hard a few times, sweat running down the side of his brow. "Y-You look..... beautiful........." Those words seemed hard to say, but he had clearly said them finally.

She looked up at his face, seeing that he was facing the ceiling, but his eyes were glued to her. This brought a big smile to her face and washed away all of the anger and any doubts Kaname had in her mind. She felt more self assured. Turning around to give him a view of her backside, she smiled. She had finally gotten the reaction she wanted.

Sousuke, however, was still at a loss for words. His body more rigid than before, he tried to continue. "Uh........................"

_Flash_

Kaname turned her head back to look at him. With a frisky smile, she gave him a playful wink.

Blinking his eyes, "N.... nice...." was the only word that escaped from his lips as it took all of his strength to keep from falling over on his face.

Kyouko saw the reaction in Sousuke and added "I take that as he likes the bikini." She was glad to see Kaname so happy; so much in fact, that she had taken a picture of their little moment.

Maya nudged Sousuke while asking him, "What do you like about the bikini she is wearing?"

Swallowing hard again, Sousuke tried to find his words, "I ...................... like............"

"Sousuke?" This time it had been Maya and Kyouko asking.

"Uhhh.................."

"Sousuke?" Again the girls were taking a page from Kaname's play book as they both tapped their foot.

He looked down to see Kaname tapping her foot along with her friends; she was trying to be understanding of his actions. She knew this had to be difficult for him. Nothing in his life had ever prepared him for this moment. There weren't any manuals on 'How to compliment a cute girl in a bikini', if there were, he had missed that class altogether. She was just happy that Kurz hadn't rubbed off on him completely.

Taking a deep breath before he let it out slowly he stated, "I like the color, it almost matches your hair."

Kaname's emotions were going to over flow if she didn't keep them under control, she knew how hard it was for him to say things others always took for granted.

Kyouko handed Kaname another bikini. This one was white with small, red dots and matching red strings. Kaname took it in hand and headed back to the dressing room, swaying her hips as she walked.

He took notice of how she walked as he tilted his head to the side, releasing an uncomfortable sigh. Sousuke had made it through that situation without incident. It wasn't all that hard to help Kaname with her decision. Okay, it was _very_ hard. Sousuke had felt like he was dropped into enemy territory and was expected to blend into his surroundings without the benefit of help from a full briefing before the mission.

But he had been told by Melissa to listen to his heart. He didn't understand those feeling all too well. He was used to blocking them out, they had confused him. Now they came a little easier. He just had to use the right words, even if getting those words out took every ounce of courage he could summon. The words would come to his mind, but making them come out of his mouth was something completely else. That which doesn't kill him will make him stronger. He would continue on, for Kaname's sake.

Sousuke looked up to see Kaname as she stepped back out of the dressing room. He tried not to stare, but the way the fabric barely covered her breasts... It was like her breasts were fighting to get out. He clenched his fist, rapidly blinking his eyes several times. "T...this… m-makes… your...."

Kaname was feeling a little timid about this bikini. The top was a little smaller than the one she had on before, leaving the sides of her bosom exposed. She hesitated to ask, but she was still feeling good. "This makes my, what Sousuke?"

"Uh......." he fought to get the words out.

Kaname asked again, "Sou....." That was all she would be able to get out, before Sousuke interrupted her.

"I was thinking that this outfit makes your eyes standout more than normal." He was confounded by his own words.

_Who is this guy? He looks like Sousuke and he's even acting somewhat like Sousuke. What am I thinking? I know this is Sousuke, but he's acting like a 'normal' boy for once. Has he finally got it figured out? _The words that came out of his mouth were not what she had been used to this military otaku saying. Not even a mention of the value of a military spy satellite, the lack of space to sufficiently hide a weapon or anything military related. If this were a fluke, this _did_ show promise. Kaname hoped so, at least.

All three of Kaname's friends were taken back by Sousuke's comment. Maya and Kyouko both smiled, they never expected those words to ever come from Mr. Socially Inept's mouth.

For Mizuki on the other hand, those words might as well have been arrows through her heart. Even though it had been a fake date, all she has been told was that she was as special as a spy satellite. Hell, Shirai did better than that comment back then. But the words that had just come from those same lips now, made anything Shirai had said nice to her in the past seem like utter bullshit. Yes, even though Mizuki knew that those words were meant for Kaname, they would make almost anyone melt.

Mizuki reached over and handed Kaname a plain black one piece swimsuit, partly out of spite.

Before Kaname could even reach for it, Sousuke -- for reasons he wasn't entirely sure about and couldn't explain if asked now or later -- was firmly shaking his head in disagreement at the sight of that swimsuit.

Kaname quickly rejected it. She had always trusted Sousuke's judgment on important matters. Even though this wasn't the normal important matters she trusted him with, it was an important matter to her. She wanted to try on few other bikinis to see how 'The Sergeant' would react to her in each of them. This was her way of making sure she kept the boy on edge.

The third one was Maya's choice, an ocean blue bandeau style bikini with a gold ring over Kaname's cleavage and a pair of gold rings on each side of the bottom. The top pushed her breasts together enough that Sousuke had to nervously look elsewhere for his own safety, but his eyes kept finding their way back to her form.

A white with black bandana print bikini was the next one that Kyouko picked out to be tried on. It fit Kaname like a second skin as the bikini hugged all of her curves nicely.

Sousuke was as red as the bow in Kaname's hair with embarrassment and unknown feeling of frustration. _This is nothing like what I went through in Lebanon; this is some cruel version of torture. But Kaname does looks so beautiful in all these garments!_

Kaname picked one out that she was very sure would cause her protector some _major_ problems. She had Kyouko hand it to her without Sousuke seeing it. Once Kaname emerged from the dressing room, she got the reaction she was hoping for.

Sousuke's eyes became as large as dinning plates once he saw Kaname in this wooden camo string bikini. Without a conscious thought, almost by instinct, the poor boy snapped into an attention position as his heels slammed together and his body became as stiff as steel beam. It would have been a model pose any soldier would have been proud of, if it were not for his head turned ninety degrees to port while his cheeks were a deeper shade of crimson as sweat fell down his face. Someone could have easily mistakenly thought he'd just eaten a mouth full of habanero infused curry rice if they didn't know better. "Wwwhhaaaaaaaaaaaa…" is all that could escape from his mouth.

One of Kaname's eye brows shot up when she saw her protector's reaction. A smile spread across her face once the girl knew she had got a better reaction than she'd hoped for. "Is everything okay, Sousuke?" Kaname sang.

His steel grey eyes darted to look at her then quickly shot back toward the ceiling. "Everything is fine, Sir… Ma'am… Chidori..."

Maya and Kyouko both chuckled quietly to themselves as Mizuki stood there shaking her head as she watched.

"What do you think about this one, Sousuke?" Kaname queried as she spun around to give him a better view.

"…!!!"

_Flash_

"I'd take that as a 'Yes'!" Kyouko stated positively after taking a picture of the mesmerized boy.

"I would agree." Maya added while trying to keep a straight face.

Mizuki simply muttered, "Men."

"At ease, soldier." Kaname ordered jokingly as she turned to head back toward the dressing room.

Once Kaname disappeared to change back into her clothes, Sousuke dropped his head and shoulders as he relaxed. _That was about as bad as when the Captain came into the hanger that night. At least Kaname wasn't rubbing up against me, not that I would really mind…_

It didn't take Kaname long for her to finished changing and then she came back out with the five bikinis in hand."Okay, Sousuke which one do you like?"

Sousuke blinked his eyes before he turned to face Kaname. After few moments of thought, "They look all very nice on you. But the first two garments that I saw you in would be the best for our trip, although the one you were just wearing does have more of a tactical… pur... pose..." He quickly swallowed to keep from making a mistake at this point. "Those three are the ones I would choose."

"I do agree with Sousuke, but I think the camo one is a must." Kyouko gave her opinion.

Maya gave her thoughts, "The camo bikini worked pretty well and I thought the blue one with the white trim was a hit also."

"Any of them would do." Mizuki tried not to be too bitter.

Kaname dropped the others off with the attendant, keeping the blue with white trim bikini and the camo one, then made her way to the checkout line with Sousuke close behind. She knew that she couldn't really afford both of them right now, but she really liked each of them equally. Worrying her bottom lip with indecision, she pondered which one she should choose. Sousuke, noticing the sad look in her eyes, made the choice easy. He simply paid for both of them, along with a white terry cloth hooded cover-up.

Kaname noticed that cover-up was long enough hang down to her knees. What kind of message was Sousuke trying to send here?


	3. The Unmerciful Fate of White Knuckles

A/N: Well, it has been a very long time since I've added a chapter to this story. With all the things that has happened over the past year and few months in my personal life, re-editing and fine tuning the first two chapters plus this one has been very time consuming. Luckily I've been working with a good friend and editor, Glockbabe. She's been a big help with getting it flowing smoother and make it sound right. Without her help, I'd feel that most of the readers would lose a lot of this story's meaning. I know her help has made this chapter the best it can be, and I hope you will agree after reading it.

I'd also like to thanks my friends and the all my readers for their support during this time. Remember, reviews are helpful and with Glockbabe's help, It won't be as long till chapter 4 is posted. Famous last words, right? LOL.

Also I do not own Full Metal Panic, nor do I own the copyrights to any vehicles and/or equipment mentioned in this story. I only own the plot… and that's still up for debate.

**Full Metal Panic! Road Trip**

_Chapter: 3 _

_The Unmerciful Fate of White Knuckles_

**November 2, 08:45 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Jindai High School, Tokyo, Japan **

**2****nd**** floor of the north building, Year 2, Class 4 Classroom**

**T-minus 24hours 15minutes**__

It was a lovely fall morning. Leaves of the trees surrounding Jindia High School had turned into a pallet of autumn colors. The wind blew gently. Birds sang their songs as the sun slowly rose in the eastern sky. The morning sun filled the classroom of class 2-4 as Miss Kagurazaka had already started class. She was in full stride this morning; explaining her teachings to her students. One student however could have cared less that morning. Kaname sat at her desk, acting like she was paying full attention to her teacher. Her mind however was on a certain sergeant and his somewhat out of the norm actions last night.

She thought too herself, _I'm surprised he even said 'Yes'. I never thought he would really show __up, and so quickly. There is no way he took the train, it took us nearly 45 minutes just to ride the train over to the Shibuya station. He must have had someone from Mithril bring him over. If that's true, what does it mean? Did he know this would mean something to me? _

She leaned forward on her desk to rest her head in the palm of her left hand._ He did hesitate a little bit at first, but then he said 'I'll be there as soon as possible. Give me a few minutes to head out the door.' _

_But then he was there in those clothes! I wonder where he got them. The jeans looked so good on him the way they hugged his... yeah. And he seemed so relaxed the way he wore his shirt. It really made his pewter eyes stand out and the sleeves of it made his arms look so, inviting!_

A flash interrupted her thoughts.

Her face and ears were so warm. Kyouko caught her blushing, thinking about that Sergeant's arms. Looking around, Kaname wondered if anyone else had noticed.

Catching sight of Kyouko hiding her camera, she gently shook her head. Kyouko always had a way of catching her at embarrassing moments.

She just needed to clam herself down. It was only Sousuke after all. What was the big deal? Yes, he came when she asked him to. Yes, he looked really good when he showed up. And that cologne, where the hell did he get that from? He normally smelled okay, faint smell of musk with a little bit gunpowder, along with his natural scent.

But that cologne!!! That had been anything but okay, it was so intoxicating. She barely could control her reactions. She felt like a timid little girl after smelling him. She wanted to be very close to him, almost rubbing up against him. Other thoughts ran through her mind also, but she had kept control of herself.

_I knew he looked good, but I never thought he could be so handsome. That cologne __really__ had me going in ways I had never really experienced before, _She thought to herself. _It was so different from what he has normally worn in the past. It was like; he was almost a normal teenage boy. One that had a clue, that knew what girls liked. But it doesn't make any sense; this is Sousuke I'm thinking about. When did he get any idea of what girls like? If it doesn't have anything to do with guns, blowing things up, or the military, he's been completely clueless about things. _Kaname sighed as she looked out the window.

Then it hit her, someone had to be helping that clueless idiot. _But who else was helping him beside Melissa and Kurz? How much were they helping and was Tessa also involved? There's no way she would help him if she knew that I was coming along on this trip. _

She knew it was a mission, of sorts. But the way Sousuke made it sound; the trip wasn't just a cover for the mission. _Could it be that the trip meant more than the mission did to him?_ _Could it be that Kurz was helping with the trip planning? I hope not, but where ever Kurz is, Melissa isn't far behind to keep him out of trouble. If that's the case, were the clothes and cologne Melissa's doing? I mean she is a woman after all; a woman that could drink most sailors under the table and smokes like a freight train, but Melissa was still a woman at heart. If she is helping Sousuke to look like a normal teenager instead of his normal dorky military otaku self, does this mean that this trip is so important to Sousuke, that he would bring his closest friends in on it to make sure nothing will go wrong? How important is this trip to him? _

She stopped to let out her breath. She had been holding it while she was thinking about things. She leaned back some and took a deep breath through her nose. Suddenly her eyes went wide, _THAT smell.... _Her pulse began to hasten, along with her mind.

She quickly leaned forward again, _He's wearing that cologne again.... to school... What is he trying to do to me? _

_Flash_

This one went unnoticed by Kaname. Kyouko was wondering what her blued hair friend was thinking about. She had seemed more distracted this morning than yesterday.

Kaname fought to keep control and it was hard. That simple clean smell had her emotions in an up roar, along with other parts of her body. She noticed the warmth in her face and her hands were shaking slightly. Her breathing was shallow and rapid. Her knees felt weak and that feeling in her below her stomach wasn't just feeling warm and tingly feeling, but a raging fire.

_This isn't fair at all.... That idiot has me squirming in my seat, like some little love struck girl. Why the nerve of that little jerk, no matter how much I do like him. HE is soo going to PAY!!! _

Even at that moment, she couldn't honestly think of hitting him with her harisen for too long. As much as she tried, those thoughts gave way to more pleasurable thoughts. She caught herself daydreaming of wanting to snuggle up in his lap right then and there, leaning in close to him and placing a deep kiss on his lips. Wanting to feel his arms around her, she didn't care where his hands would be, as long as they were touching her. She wanted to rub her body against his. Her desires grew wild in her thoughts.

_Flash_

She blinked rapidly. Kyouko had just snapped another picture of her. That brought a scowl to her face. _This is just great. That moron has me daydreaming about doing indecent things to him. AND Kyouko just has to take pictures of me in the middle of it. _

Kaname had to keep fighting for control. She wasn't going let this ruin her day. She let out a sigh as a slight smile appeared on her face. Her mind drifted back to Sousuke. _I guess it isn't that bad after all. Did seeing this new side to him, really have this much affect on me? I really don't know whether to be angry at him or to be happy. Even if he had to get help from Melissa, at least it shows me he's trying. Taking a step forward without me having to beat or yell at him. It's about time._

Kaname looked up at the clock, seeing the time was already 9:05. She had completely missed about 20 minutes of the lecture being lost in thoughts and daydreams. She needed to get some notes written down. But soon, the essence of Sousuke's cologne tickled her nose once more, which caused her mind to think about him again.

Her mind drifted back to when she first saw him at the store last night. She had been caught off guard so much that she had completely forgotten how much smaller that bikini was compared to the white one she had worn the past summer. When she went out to get a better view of Sousuke, she inadvertently gave him and her friends a clear and better view of herself. Kaname was first thoroughly blown away by how handsome he looked; and secondly disturbed by how close her friends were standing next to Sousuke and the expression on each of their faces. By these expressions, Kaname had a good idea what was going on in their minds.

Sousuke was speechless, no big surprise there.

Kyouko looked like she had been amused standing there. But the faint redness in her cheeks told Kaname that her little spectacles wearing friend was fully enjoying being this close to Sousuke. She stood there on his left side, leaning slightly towards him. Her eyes betrayed her smile. _Just what was Kyouko thinking? _

Maya was standing on the right side of him, somewhat facing him. The look on her face, told anyone that could see her. She had really enjoyed seeing Sousuke. The grin she had on her face would have made sure a shark would take notice. Kaname sure did, wondering what mischievous thoughts her friend was having.

Mizuki on the other hand, standing on the other side of Maya, looked somewhat pissed, although she seemed to be hiding it. _I can only guess why she was acting that way... _Kaname wondered if Mizuki seeing Sousuke dressed like that just to come down to the store was a slap in the face to her? That faux date earlier in the school year had been staged. This time, nothing was staged. Sousuke came by his own free will.

What really got her blood flowing was thinking of Kyouko and Maya's reactions. Kaname knew both girls liked him as a person. Nothing more than just simple friendship, but at that store they were both purring around him. At the time this took place it hadn't bothered her, her mind was focused on a certain sociality inept soldier, that wasn't as clueless as he may have seemed for the moment.

Now, the more she thought about it, the more she was feeling that green eyed monster inside of her. And it was starting to win over the control of her emotions and her thoughts.

She knew Kyouko always had seen the brighter side to Sousuke's antics, thinking that he was sweet, kind, and romanticizing his selfless actions toward herself, no matter how those same actions sometimes irritated Kaname to the point of jarring that idiot with her harisen.

God only knew what was going through Maya's mind. Could she start to see Sousuke in the same light that Kyouko did? What if they both started to compete for his attention? Could she handle two more girls acting like Tessa towards that military moron?

_Tessa_... Kaname thought as she gritted her teeth, _what if that pint size captain had seen how Sousuke was dressed last night? Tessa would have been all over him, in her own way. _The realization of this thought was the straw that broke the camel's back, or more to the point, Kaname's pencil.

_Snap.........._

_Flash… Flash…_

Kaname was brought back to the present by that sound. She saw herself holding both halves of her pencil in her clenched fists as her hands trembled_. _

_Oh, just great. What a way to make a scene, idiot.... _she briefly scolded to herself.

The sound of her breaking the pencil must have echoed throughout the class. She glanced around quickly to see that Miss Kagurazaka didn't have the class's attention any more. Everyone was looking back at her; and of course, Kyouko had her camera out.

Miss Kagurazaka cleared her throat. Continuing on with the lesson at hand, most of the students turned their attention back to their teacher.

Kyouko had a look of concern on her face as she stared at her blue haired friend. Maya, Mayuko and Shiori, all were a little puzzled at first. After they studied Kaname for a few seconds, they looked at each other. It could have been guessed by all three of them that Sousuke had done something again, but they weren't sure. Sousuke was still sitting at his desk, and no harisen had been deployed within the following minutes.

Kaname felt embarrassed by her thoughts and actions. How could she even think that way of her friends? They knew better than anyone else, even herself, their class Rep had some feelings toward the boy that sat behind her in class. They had been supportive, even pushing her somewhat to open up to that scruffy military nut. They were the first ones to jump on him, when they thought he had done something to hurt or upset her. They were good friends, they knew better out of respect for her to cross that line.

On the other hand, Kaname had let herself get caught up with jealous thoughts, and was ready to fight even her closest friends for that boy. She had the realization; she was being foolish about things. It was just nonsense to even give into the idea of her friends bidding for Sousuke's attention.

A light tap on her right shoulder caused Kaname to turn quietly but quickly to see Sousuke with his right hand out. In it was a new pencil that already had been sharpened to perfect a point. There was concern in his eyes, but he never spoke. Kaname gave him a brief smile that conveyed she was fine and not in any danger. The look of relief on his face spoke volumes to her.

While she was lost in thoughts, daydreams, and emotions; Sousuke by his own fault, had been there to save her from herself again. Not by doing anything overly spectacular, just by handing her that pencil. That act unto itself, told her that no matter what, she wasn't alone. It didn't have to be some grave emergency. It didn't require Arbalest, guns or some selfless act to rescue her, just a simple pencil at the right time. That told her that he was there for her, no matter what the situation was. It wasn't like the last time, they yet to really talk about why he had left without saying a word. It didn't matter right now; he was there for her, here and now. He had not abandoned her in her time of need. Her feelings welled up inside of her. Not letting them be known to the sergeant, she took the pencil from his hand, letting her finger bush against his.

This had caused Sousuke to jump a little, like he had just been hit with a taser. The warmth of the smile on Kaname's face told him that he had done the right thing at the right time, and to thank him for his concern for her.

Kaname returned to her former position, ready to put the pencil to use, but Sousuke actions had caused her mind to think back about the train ride home last night. How they sat on the train with her shopping bags at their feet. The train wasn't crowded due to the sun already disappearing below the western Tokyo landscape and most of the locals were already home by that time.

Sousuke was sitting stiffly, staring straight ahead of himself into the darkness of the evening as the lights of the city passed the train. Kaname was fully emerged in her joyful feelings. She leaned over to her side and rested her head on his shoulder. Sousuke flinched a bit, but all that did was let her know what kind of person he was.

Yes, he was a battle hardened solider. One of the best, if not the best AS pilot that Mithril had. He had stared death in the face; many times that she knew of and wouldn't even flinch. Terrorist or yakuza couldn't catch this boy off guard. But the simple gesture of her, and his reaction to her. Told her how innocent he was still inside. On the outside, Sousuke was a young soldier, one who had done more in his short life then most seasoned Spec-Op operators had in their whole career, but on the inside, when it came to his emotions, he was very much a child. Sousuke Sagara was anything but normal, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

She might have felt she was over stepping things a bit, by thinking that Sousuke was her solider. True, Mithril was his employer, but for the now, while he was in Tokyo, he was her protector, her friend, HER SOLIDER!!!

She knew he would give his life for her, without any thought, just to keep her safe.

How many other girls could claim that? They might have a boy in their lives that could seem to make the sun shine at the darkest part of the day, but they would never have a boy like Sousuke. Sousuke Sagara, the boy who doesn't seem to have a romantic bone in his body, would give her the greatest gift of all. Kaname had the undoubted knowledge that he was a man of his word, that overall he would give and do anything to make sure she was safe. If that wasn't romantic in its' own right, what was?

Even thought that clueless moron would never think of it like that, she did at times. How many other boys would have stormed a mansion, fighting off three mercenary bodyguards, and completely disarming her host, to save her from kidnappers, even though she was there of free will? Or, risk his life just to make sure she was returned to Japan safe and sound.

She remembered wanting to ask some things on that train ride home.

"_Sousuke...?" I asked while still resting my head on his shoulders._

"_Yes, Kaname?" he responded, after he swallowed a lump in his throat._

"_Did you enjoy yourself this evening, coming down to the store?" I had to know how he felt about it._

_He ran his hand though his hair, holding his breath. I heard him let the breath out, "It was a pleasant evening being there with you. Although when you first asked me to come down, I was very uncertain about my abilities to advise you on swim wear. I know little about the aesthetics of swim wear. I only know their basic function."_

"_But you still came down anyway." I wanted to know why he really showed up._

"_Yes," he took a deep breath, like he was collecting his thoughts. Breathing out through his nose, he continued, "I had remembered what you said to me about girls wanting a guy's opinion on selecting garments to wear, after I was at a loss to the reaction of the girl on Shinji's dating sim."_

_So he was paying attention, good boy. "So you showed up, not because you had to, but wanted to?" _

"_Affirmative," I could tell it was difficult for him but he was starting to slide back into his military mood. "I just told Melissa of my uncertain thoughts on your request. She instructed me to not to be so worried if I didn't know what would be the best for you to wear. But to tell you what I honestly thought about the swim wear you had picked out. Her words made me see the mistake I would have made if I gave into my belief that I was inadequate in regarding to your request."_

_That's when I found out that Melissa did have a hand in this. That might explain the clothes and the cologne. No doubt in my mind what Kurz would have told Sousuke to do. I'm sure Melissa was playing her 'big sister' role to Sousuke on this. I'm glad she is helping by putting a woman's personal touch on things. I'm going to have to thank her the next time I see her. God only knows what Kurz would have done, if he was in complete control of advising Sousuke._

"_Sousuke, you did give me your honest thoughts on those bikinis' I tried on… right?" I looked up a bit to see the sweat on his brow._

"_Correct, Kurz had no influence on my words. Although he did tell me you say ' you looked hot'," he paused a bit. I don't know what I would have done if he had followed through and said that. But it didn't matter; his words were all that I cared about. _

"_I noticed you looked comfortable there, but maybe a bit uncertain. There was no indication that you looked like you were burning up with a fever or any other illness." this comment was said with a puzzled look on his face. Still so innocent, he never made the connection that the word 'hot' was slang for saying a girl looked attractive. But his own words, 'You look beautiful', those words meant more to me any other._

_I had to laugh a bit at his innocence, but the reward I gave him helped him relax more. I slid my hand over and took his left hand in mine, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. I really appreciated his honesty. He had jumped a bit, but relaxed a few seconds later._

"_So did you really like the two bikinis' I picked out?"_

"_Yes, as I had said they both looked nice on you. I felt they enhanced your.... phys... ical... beau... ty..." he became very nervous saying those last two words. Maybe thinking I would smack him. But it made me feel warm inside and I was enjoying it too much to change the mood._

_I'm going to have to keep him on edge after that. "Enhanced my physical beauty? Is that your way of saying that I was very beautiful wearing them? Or...." I did enjoy toying with him. "Maybe... that I even looked sexy to you?" _

_With that single word, 'sexy', he became stiff from head to toe. Sweat ran down the sides if his face and his breathing became rapid and heavy. I got the reaction I wanted out of him. He was in my hands to play with some more._

"_Sousuke..." I said with a loving tone._

"_Uhhhh............" that deer in headlights look on his face, priceless._

"_Sousuke?" I said again, putting a little more feeling into it._

"_Uhhhhhhhhhhhh............." _

_Okay, I must have really popped a circuit breaker in his head. Time to change tactics; maybe this reset things in his head._

"_Sousuke, why did you buy those bikinis for me? Not that I'm complaining." That did have me confused; he had never really done anything like that before._

_I saw his head drop some, the air he had been holding in his lungs rushed out. "It seemed you were having a difficult time choosing which one you wanted to buy. I didn't think it was fair to __you to have to choose. Since both garments made you look, as you implied 'very beautiful', which I agree with your assessment. I chose to relieve you of your distress, and purchase the garments for you." _

"_I see. That was very sweet of you, thank you." I looked up at his intense eyes as I had given him a light squeeze of his hand again. _

"_Sousuke, you also bought me a white terry cloth hooded cover-up. Why did you do that?" this is what I really wanted to know. He knew I would have a hooded cover up around, but this one he bought was much longer. What was he thinking?_

_His head dropped more, guessing by his reaction my question hit a tender issue; checkmate! I gave him time to form his answer. I didn't want to make him feel rushed about this._

"_Kaname, as you already know I think you are beautiful and I have planned on us visiting the beach at least one time on this trip. I felt that it would be wise to have something to cover you with to keep your.... you from getting to much sun or from weather." It was very obvious that for some reason he had changed his words at the end of his sentence. Maybe he was too shy to say what he was really thinking, or thought I would get cross with him. I wouldn't have been upset with him, but I guessed he was playing safe. Then he continued to speak, he was being honest, to a fault. Not in a bad way this time._

"_But that is not my only reason for doing what I did. Lately I've noticed the way other boys have been looking at the girls when they are in gym or playing sports. And their comments, I do not wish to repeat. In the past, I would have not paid them much attention, being that I would not have understood the meaning of such comments. Thanks to being around you and your helpfulness with me understanding the society in which I now live, I began to understand some of these comments more and I find them most disrespectful to our fellow female students and you...."_

_What has some guy been saying about me? How bad was it that Sousuke wouldn't repeat them to me? Who would say something like that...?_

She let out a sigh, remembering the guilt that overcame her while she thought of who would do such a thing. But it was all too clear to her last night as it was now. About a month ago, the Jindai High boy's soccer team had been making sexually harassing comments to the girls of class 4, second year, during their gym class. The girls had been running around the track as the soccer team practiced. Even though she could never hear what the boys were saying, it was clear that some of their rude comments had offended her classmates.

Before she could get back around to hear more of the cat calls being made, there had been several loud explosions where the boys were once standing. Now all of them were laid flat on the ground, moaning in pain. Sousuke had been far enough away that no one would have questioned his involvement in the event, but Kaname knew the SRT soldier too well and knew he had done it. She remembered running over to him as he looked back at her to see if she would have been pleased. But not knowing the details of what had been said. She dropped kicked him in the face instead. She had screamed and yelled at him for be an overzealous military nut. It wasn't till last night on the train, she put things together. Remembered what he had said next on the train.

"_Those comments had upset me, but I was able to control myself. But when I heard the comment they made about you...." he did his best to clean up that sexual comment._ "_They had implied that you were a very cold hearted, female dog, and that your orifices would be put to better use if they had a chance to use them all." The hardened intensity of his angry face had told me that just saying those words had Sousuke reliving the rush of emotions from that day. I saw him clench his right fist so hard, all his knuckles cracked at once. His arm was tight, his muscles all flexing at once. Slowly the rush of emotional storm inside him washed away._

_I felt guilty thinking back to the day; I treated him so badly for standing up and protecting my honor, and the other girls in our class. While the other guys in our class did nothing, few yelled at the track team. Sousuke took action._

_He got his breathing under control, "When I heard those boys say that about you. I couldn't think straight, I knew what I wanted to do. I knew it wasn't the proper thing to do. I simply didn't care. I saw the side of myself that I have been able to keep under control for many years now. They had to answer for their crime."_

"_I'm sorry I yelled at you and kicked you that day." I felt ashamed for how I acted. Sousuke's actions might not have been proper, but every guy in our class had secretly wished they had the balls or skills Sousuke showed that day. I was such an idiot, not even waiting to hear the facts __before I over reacted to what I thought he did._

_His comment next, did nothing to lift my shame I was feeling on the train. "You didn't do anything wrong, Kaname. Your words reminded me, that I over reacted to a situation that I should of handled like a Specialist." I damn near cried hearing those words from him._

_But I couldn't let him believe that, he had done the right thing in his own way. "Sousuke don't you dare cheapen your actions that day. You did what you felt was right. You stood up for me and all of the girls in our class. Don't you think for a minute you did something wrong. And I thank you for your actions, even thought I didn't say it that day."_

_At that moment, I saw him smile a little. Well as close as he comes to smiling. Then he spoke again, "Back to my answer of your question. I bought that white garment for you, based on my actions that day. I don't wish to ruin any time we spend together by losing control of my temper because of other's inappropriate comments." There were signs of strong emotions in his words. Did he care that much about me? How strongly did Sousuke care about me? Even though Sousuke's actions that day were far beyond his normal duties, they were par for his normal antics. _

_I told him, "Thank you", _

"_Kaname I have a question for you." He stated._

_I looked back at his face, meeting the gaze of his grey eyes, "Yes, Sousuke?"_

"_I was wondering something, since you now have two more swim suits. Will you be bringing the white one with you?"_

_I couldn't believe my ears; he was asking me about my white bikini. He had never said a damn thing about it before. "I don't know yet," _

_He cleared his throat, "I see… I can understand if you choose not to bring it along. I have failed to mention in the past how it suits your beauty."_

_What the hell? Did he just finally say he liked that bikini? It a little over three months since I last wore it, and he finally said something about it. "Sousuke, is that your way of saying you like the way it looked on me last summer?"_

_The expression on his face had a tremendous amount of regret in it. "Yes… it is." He let a sigh and then continued, "I know I should have said something to that regard sooner. The reason has been unclear to me for a while now that I haven't said anything on the subject. But the feeling I should have said something about how you looked in it, has haunted me for many months now."_

_All this time I thought he hadn't noticed it, it had hurt not knowing and even enraged me to think he didn't like it. Now I know he had been simply tongue tied over the feelings he had. "Is that why you shot the wrong watermelon that day?"_

_My question must have done more to loosen his brain, then hitting him with a harisen. The look on his face was again priceless. The fact I had just found the reason for his mistake at the beach that day. He had been paying attention to me instead of the watermelon he was supposed to shoot. His meekly answer of 'yes' proved me right._

"_Yes Sousuke, I'll bring it along if you would like me to." Besides, a girl needs to keep a boy guessing. I had planned on bringing it along anyway._

_The brightness in his face said a lot, even if his words didn't, "I would like that very much."_

"Are there any questions?" Miss Kagurazaka's question had brought Kaname back to the world at hand. She glanced up at the clock as her teacher answered the questions her fellow students had about the lecture. Kaname saw that there was only five minutes left in 1st period. Looking down at her note book, her eyes went wide. She hadn't taken a single note. All there was on her notebook was drawings of hearts, and Sousuke's name a few times. A little drawing of what could look like Sousuke with a gun in one hand and a bomb in the other, even her name with Sagara after it. She was glad that the lecture had been about the areas of study the class would be covering once they were back from fall break. She would just have to get the notes from Kyouko later. Kaname smiled. _This is going to be a good, check that… a great day!_

xxxxx

**10:15 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Jindai High School, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan**

**Year 2, Class 4 Classroom**

**T-minus 22 hours 45 minutes**

The bell rang sounding the end of the uneventful 2nd period. Before Kaname knew it, Sousuke had left his desk and disappeared quickly. She turned around seeing Kyouko waving her over to her own desk. Kaname got up and headed toward her friend's desk, as Kyouko asked with a concerned tone in her voice, "Kana are you ok?"

Kaname smiled at her, "Yes, Kyouko. I'm fine. I was just thinking about last night."

"Oh, did Sousuke mess things up?" She was hoping he hadn't, after things seemed to go so well at Pacific Coast.

"No, he didn't do anything wrong at all," a warm, fond smile grew across Kaname's face, "He explained to me what happened with the soccer team last month. I really didn't know those jerks had been saying such things about the girls in our class."

"Did Sousuke tell you why he used so many grenades on those jerks?" Kyouko might act innocent at times. But she knew in her mind without a doubt that it was Sousuke who handled those guys.

"He said they made a rude comment about me. He lost control of his temper, then BOOM!" Kaname kept smiling, but wished deep down inside of herself that she would have reacted differently.

"Sousuke lost his temper?" Kyouko was stunned by this. "Well I'm glad we have him around. I know he makes mistakes and causes a lot of things to happen. But he seems like a special guy, one a girl can count on overall." She knew that Sousuke had a good heart, even if his brain wasn't just right.

Kaname nodded her head; she knew what her friend meant. Kyouko knew more than any other girl in Jindai did.

"It's like this morning,"

"What happened this morning? Did I miss something?" Kaname asked, with a raised eye brow.

"I didn't tell you yet," Kyouko turned to face Kaname all the way, "When I was riding the train to school, I overheard a couple of girls from year I, class 7, talking badly about Sousuke. They said he was just your lap dog. That there wasn't anything human about him." Kyouko was rightfully upset to hear such things about two of her friends. "So I told them, that they didn't know Sousuke at all. He is a kind and a gentle young man. Also, when he put his mind to it, he knew what to say to a certain Student Council Vise-President to make her blush for all the right reasons." She was smiling and was proud that she had stood up for her friends. When Kyouko saw Kaname's reaction, it left the bespectacled girl wondering.

Kaname was glad that Kyouko had stood up for Sousuke. But that little info dump, had left her wondering Kyouko's true intentions. Was she trying to help or cause Kaname more embarrassment? _Is she trying to get more members in the SSFC?_

Kaname then caught something out of the corner of her eye. A girl standing by Sousuke's desk, had just put something in it. Kaname asked, "Kyouko, who's that girl?"

She turned to see the girl in question walking towards the door. The girl was kind of tall. Cute, with bright reddish pink hair, that hung down past her shoulders. "That's Mizuho Kusanagi, she a 3rd year student."

"I see… she does look cute enough but she's probably an air head." Kaname sounded triumphant. She felt that the girl was no match for her. Kaname had looks, brains and was very athletic, the total package. Being under Sousuke's protection did help some, also.

Though it wasn't her intention, Kyouko next comment brought Kaname down some, "I heard she got accepted to Tokyo U already."

That hit Kaname like a brick on the head, "Oh... really..." She wasn't going to let this bring her down.

"Yeah, and she has also made a lot of cookie's for the schools bake sale every year since she has been in Jindai. If I remember right they always sell pretty fast, every time." this was stated in an as-matter-of-fact tone from Kyouko.

Kaname looked down at the floor. _So that was the girl that did so well at the bake sale. Hmmm…_

When she looked back up, Kaname saw another girl slide something into Sousuke's desk. _What the hell??_ She looked back to Kyouko, who had an odd smile on her face.

Kyouko had started to wonder if her help this morning had back fired.

Before Kaname could ask her, Kyouko informed her, "That's Karen Onodera; she almost beat your best lap time while in her freshmen year. Too bad she broke her ankle. She's also been keeping a 3.87 gpa this whole year."

Kaname's temper was getting the better of her_. _Her face really didn't betray her feeling too much, anyone who saw her, knew she was very pissed. She didn't need this right now. The past day had been so wonderful with Sousuke, now the rivals were coming out of the wood work to try to take her happiness away. Not that Sousuke would even entertain the idea of going out with another girl, if he knew what was good for him. But she didn't need Sousuke wasting time following these girls around to see if they were spies or terrorists, time that could be better spent with Kaname, so she felt.

Kyouko's next comment, only pushed the green eyed monster forward inside of Kaname, "I guess they figured out that Sousuke wouldn't blow up his desk with you sitting near him."

Kaname rushed over to Sousuke's desk, with Kyouko quick on her heels. She reached in his desk and pulled out five letters, all from different girls. She could smell the perfume on each and every letter. _What the f... who the hell do these girls think they are. I've put up with all his antics and crap for over six months. Now that I got him somewhat tamed, they think that can muscle their way in on my man. Those TRAMPS!!!_

"Kaname, what are you doing in my desk?"

She turned around to see him standing about a meter behind her. He was puzzled by what Kaname was doing.

Kaname looked at him, trying to hide her anger, but Sousuke knew better. The expression on her face told him she was upset and he was going to pay for it, even though, he was only in the bathroom during the break. He eyed the letters in her hand.

Kyouko had a concerned look about her; even she wasn't sure what her blue haired friend might do at this moment.

Kaname took a step forward, before Sousuke could ask, "What are those...."

She barked loudly at him, "Looks like you got fan mail!" Kaname slammed the letters into his chest, knocking him back a bit. "Hhmmmmfffff!" she let out as she turned toward her desk, slapping Sousuke in the face with her long ribboned hair. She sat at her desk abruptly.

Kyouko tried to show an apologetic look, but the damage was already done.

Sousuke took the letters in his hand. He didn't know anything about them, and he didn't care. All that did mattered, was that Kaname was mad at him for some reason.

He threw the letters back in his desk, he didn't have time to deal with them, and class would start soon.

Kyouko looked down at Sousuke, seeing the lost look of unpleasant thoughts. The restrain of emotions washed across his eyes after that. She then looked at Kaname, who shot her back a look, daring her to say something. Kyouko knew as well as Sousuke to let her cool off. She returned to her seat.

As the students all piled back into class, they could also sense something was amiss in the room.

xxxxx

**12:09 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Jindai High School, Tokyo, Japan **

**North Building, 2****nd**** floor**

**T-minus 20 hours 51 minutes**__

In the girl's bathroom, Kaname stood trembling as she leaned over the sink, unable to look at herself. The sight of the horrible image starring back at the class rep had already made her sick to her stomach; the evidence in the sink proved that. The girl hung her head low to avoid her own reflection, disgusted and ashamed of her actions earlier in the day. Letting out a sigh and catching her breath, Kaname wondered how she could have let herself fall prey to the green eyed monster that lurked within, and allowed herself to get so upset.

Instead of taking it out on the people that pushed this emotion to the front of her mind, she took it out on her friends and the boy she was in love with, even if she still hadn't admitted the later yet. They had done nothing to her, except try and find out if they could help her. She shot Kyouko hateful looks, whenever she looked back to check on her friend. She snapped at Maya between 3rd and 4th period. Mayuko and Shiori couldn't believe Kaname was acting this way. The whole class room was on edge during both of those periods. Even during Japanese literature, the whole class had been on pins and needles around her. She knew this wasn't 'that time of the month' which she had just finished dealing with. Kaname hoped that her period was over or maybe it was her hormones were still out of whack because of it. The last time this happened was when the school's boys' soccer team had been acting like jerks, but someone had taught them a lesson that day.

The teacher had been Sousuke Sagara. Maybe she needed to take a few lessons about controlling oneself from him. Beside the track team event, which no one complained about, Sousuke had been doing a better job at self control in and out of school. There were a still few incidents that caused problems and embarrassment to Kaname here and there, like a man-made bacterial outbreak or when Sousuke dragged her into the shop and unknowingly bought that home pregnancy test when he thought they were being followed. Most times he had just been following orders from the Student Council or the Principle of the school. No one was injured that wasn't supposed to be, most of the time. He was doing what he been charged with as the Student Council Security Officer. He had shown improvement over his reckless days of old. Sousuke didn't deserve what she did to him earlier today. He hadn't asked those girls to send him those letters. He didn't even read them, as far as Kaname knew. It's not like he would have read them anyway, only to see who had wrote the letters. Telling those girls 'Thank you', but he would decline there offers or just ignore them all together.

Kaname knew him pretty well, when she wasn't looking through those green eyes. She thought she knew him well, but his actions and words last night made her realize that there was another side to him. He wasn't just a military otaku nut, an AS pilot, or a soldier for a secret organization named Mithril. He was a teenage boy coming to terms with living around other teenagers in a peaceful Japan. He had just now started showing improvement in this area; he was openly talking about things out side of war, secret terrorist organizations, and/or military affairs, among other things. It was a start for him.

Kaname wondered if the way she had treated him earlier would cause him some setbacks. After all, no matter how tough he looked on the outside, Kaname knew he was a child when it came to his emotions. She thought to herself, _I've been bringing him along nicely and then today I blow up at him for nothing. God, I call him an idiot and a moron all the time, but I guess I'm the real moron. I hope he's not mad at me._

"I need to apologize to them and let Sousuke know I'm truly sorry." she declared to herself out loud.

Just then she heard the bathroom door swing open. She hadn't paid it any mind, until she heard Kyouko's voice.

"Kaname, are you in here?" looking for her friend. Kyouko sounded winded in her question.

"Yes… Ky. I'm in here being stupid." Kaname was being hard on herself as so many times in the past. She turned to see Kyouko panting. She asked, "What wrong? Why are you out of breath?" This had Kaname worried.

Kyouko took a deep breath before letting out, "It's Sousuke. Issei Tsubaki challenged him to another fight. Sousuke accepted."

Kaname's eyes went wide as that icy cold feeling of fear set in once she heard what Kyouko said. She knew both of them were skilled fighters. She also remembered the devastation around the school from their last fight. She knew Issei had feelings for her, but she told him she couldn't return those feelings, that there was someone else she cared for and it wouldn't be fair to him. The idea that Issei had figured out it was Sousuke ran through her mind. That wouldn't be a fight; it would be a death match.

"Where are they, Kyouko?" Kaname sounded almost frantic.

"I think they're up on the roof, but I'm not sure which one. Shinji was trying to keep up with them." Kyouko told her.

Kaname ran out of the bathroom, with Kyouko close behind. They saw Shinji coming across the bridged hallway at a dead run. "Where are they?" she asked Shinji.

The bespectacled boy caught his breath, "They're on the roof of the south building… west side... You might want to hurry… Sousuke started disarming himself..."

Kaname broke into a quick sprint once she heard this, running as fast as she could with Kyouko and Shinji trailing behind her. _Sousuke, please be alright... Don't get yourself hurt..._

Once Kaname made it to the roof, her fears were well founded as she saw the crowd of students standing between her and the two boys. She yelled, "Let me through!" as the girl pushed her way through the students who had gathered to watch the fight. The Amateur Karate Club's pupils, Chocalat, Marron and Waffle stood near the south fence while Ono-D, Maya, Mayuko, some of other members of class four and representatives of the unofficial 'Sousuke Sagara Fan Club' were standing by the north fence. The crowd that Kaname had passed through was made up of students from the other classes of the school, which included Mia Shouji, Ena Saeki, Sasaki, and the three guys from the music club, just to name a few.

Issei and Sousuke stood a few meters apart in their own fighting positions ready at a moment's notice to engage each other, like two fighters that had just entered the ring of a caged match. Issei was in a cocky confident stance, acting as if he was facing some loud mouthed amateur who was about to be put in his place. While Sousuke stood there like a lone stoic warrior of old, one that had been battled ready most of his life. Sagara had faced off against many foes before in his past. Whether it had been the Soviet's and their RK-91's and 92's in Afghanistan, Amalgam and their Venom type ASes, Gauron or any other unnamed enemy. At this point in time, Issei Tsubaki was no different from any of them; just another enemy that was trying to take away what the young mercenary felt was the most important thing in his life right now. Sousuke hadn't let it happen in the past and he sure wasn't going to let it happen now.

Kaname was frozen at the sight before her. The last time she had seen Sousuke like this had been aboard the Tuatha de Danaan. When he fought against one of his own to save her; a traitorous and murderous SRT member named Danigan. Her mind knew what was about to unfold, but her body was unable to move with the realization of this.

This wasn't going to be something out of a movie, with a director trying for the best angles. This was about to be reality, in a primal teen age testosterone driven way. It would be Tsubaki's mastery of several different forms of Karate and had the black belts to prove it, against Sagara's Systema and Mithril hand to hand training, which was heavily based off of the US Marine Corps Martial Art Program, MCMAP for short. MCMAP was a combat fighting style that combined the most devastating techniques from Muay Thia, Taekwondo, Karate, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Kaname had an idea already how well trained Sousuke was. She had seen him in action numerous times before this.

As Kaname tried to move forward to put a stop to this insanity, her limbs still hesitated. Her foot came in contact with the Glock 26 that Sousuke always carried. She glanced down to see a pile of weapons that had been removed by her protector, everything from his uniform jacket, four spare magazines loaded with 9mm rounds for his gun, grenades, flashbangs, a meter of piano wire, a taser, and two throwing knives were on the ground. Even his trusty combat knife, a Strider D9-SS, stood there with its point embedded deeply in the top of the roof. _Sousuke would normally just blow it off or dropped Issei with a training round or a taser like he's done so many times before. What did Issei say this time to get Sousuke to fight?_

The leader of the Amateur Karate Club snorted air of over confidence, "Are you ready…, Sagara?"

"Ready… and waiting." This statement was made by the soldier in a dead calm voice.

Without any further sign of delay, both combatants suddenly charged toward each other with lethal intent. Tsubaki threw the first punch, which was blocked by the soldier's left forearm, who quickly returned an attack of his own. Sousuke's first and second punches had just barely missed his target as Issei dodged to his left. Seeing that he had his opponent on the defensive, Sousuke sieged the opportunity and continued his attack on the martial artist by throwing more punches aimed at Tsubaki's chest and face, who to no end, moved around trying to avoid Sagara's strikes, waiting for an opening to launch his own counter attack.

Issei didn't have to wait long to find an opening, he performed several kazami zuki jabs to keep Sousuke at distance and judged how he reacted to the attack. He already knew Sagara was as fast as he was from their fist fights they had before. Issei just had to set him up right where the martial artist needed his opponent to be. Sousuke threw a few punches where he could between Issei's kazami zukis, but none of them had landed any hits at this point.

During all this, Issei had been slowly building up his ki. He knew better than to stand still while doing this, it had left him wide open for Sagara's 'under handed attacks'. But the time had come; Sousuke over extended one of his punches. Tsubaki capitalized on the opening, lunging forward with his lightning fast thrombotic fist attack aimed right at the victim's sternum.

Tsubaki hadn't been the only one thinking ahead. Not one to 'lick your lips in front of your enemy', Sousuke gave no notion that the captain of the martial art club walked right into his trap. The mercenary had judged and set to memory most of his rival's moves and knew that he would use this attack again. Side stepping Issei's Daidomyaku-style secret technique, Sousuke grabbed a hold of the wrist of the attacking appendage while moving in closer. Issei couldn't do anything to block what was coming next as Sagara drove his elbow just below Tsubaki's sternum, crashing it into his upper abdomen. This crushing strike forced the air from his lungs as Issei gasped. This was immediately followed up by Sousuke's clenched fist slamming down into Tsubaki's groin like a sledge hammer hitting a nail, causing Issei's eyes to nearly pop out of his head as he yelped in excruciating pain. To prove the point that Sousuke wasn't messing around this time, he suddenly snapped his fist upward from Issei's groin and brought the back of his fist quick and hard into the martial artist's face. Knocking Tsubaki back and sent him flying into the fence running along the north side of the roof.

Kaname was awe-struck by the skill Sousuke had shown here, "…!" _Issei has no idea what he's done… Sousuke is in combat mode now… but he using some restraint as he attacks._

As the members of class four and the SSFC cheered, Marron hollered, "You son of bitch! Why don't you fight fair?!?"

"Hey crybabies… You're the one's that said this was anything goes as long as he didn't use any of his weapons!" Ono-D was getting tired of the Amateur Karate Club jerks calling foul every time his friend Sagara got the upper hand over Tsubaki.

Waffle turned towards Ono-D shouting, "What did you say blondie…?"

Tsubaki cut his pupil off, "Will you show some pride for once." as he wiped the blood away from his upper lip with the back of his hand. "I see you've finally decided to take this seriously, Sagara. Let me return the favor" Issei brought his glasses out of his pants pocket and placed them on his battered face.

"Fine by me. Only an amateur engages in a battle without taking it serious from the beginning." Sousuke declared as he kept his eyes focused on Tsubaki.

"Cut the military crap and get ready for defeat." The martial artist sneered.

"Right…" _What an amateur… he's finally going to come at me with everything he's got. Good… all I have to do is put him down and not kill him. _

"Let's finish this." Issei growled as he charged toward Sagara with a volley of powerful kazami zuki, shotei uchi, quick jabs, punches and palm strikes. As fast as these attacks came, Sousuke was able to block most of them, taking a few hard hits to chest, upper arms and his face. The boy known as Urzu-7 to his comrades, kept his defenses up until he found an opening in Tsubaki's moves. At that point, Sousuke started his counter attack with his own style of punches, jabs, elbow strikes and the like.

Kaname watched in horror as she saw them both fully engrossed with beating each other into submission. Both were starting to show signs of wear and fatigue from the intensity of their respected disciplines. She couldn't believe the constant pummeling blows they exchanged with each other, it amazed her that they were both still able to stand at all. Their uniforms were already torn and in disarray. Issei had blood running down from his nose while the soft tissue around his left eye darkend into purplish red. Sousuke's mouth had blood running out at the corner of it and his arms were bruised from fending off incoming punches.

As part of the group of students watched in disbelief, some cringed at the brutality being displayed in front of them. Most of the male students cheered loudly. A student from the Communication Club called out the fight. With megaphone in hand, announcing in a distinctive nasal voice that sounded much like the famous American sport announcer, the late Howard Cosell. "Truly a sight to behold, Ladies and Gentlemen; Jindai is truly burning. For the first time since these two fighting masters met during the summer, they are engaged in an awesome spectacle and a vicious display of seething opponents once again paralleled in an obstinate attempt to prove superiority of the school unequal in our lifetime. Today we have the pure, yet impure martial artist; the chi powered flirting master and one hell of a short order chef from second year class eight, Issei Tsubaki."

The Martial Art Club's oversized pupils, along with members from the other fighting and sport clubs cheered wildly for Tsubaki.

"His opponent, the uncanny force of nature that blew into Jindai this very year, the underage military maniac otaku that keeps most weapons manufactures in business. The one man army. The expert from the desert of the war torn Middle East. The rumble from the jungle byway of Southeast Asia. The terror of Jindia from second year class four. Some of you love him and most of you despise him… Sousuke Sagara!"

Most of the girls and Ono-D cheered Sousuke on. Shinji and Kyouko both rooted for Sousuke also, but they both hoped he could take out Issei quickly. Kaname was simply appalled by this sight of rampant hostilities between the two boys.

The announcer continued, "The crowds swell with anticipation as this fight reaches its fifteen minute mark. These two contenders are displaying immense amount of courage. Then there is a still higher type of courage - the courage to brave pain, to live with it, to never let others know of it and to still find joy in life; to wake up in the morning with an enthusiasm for the day ahead." He wasn't wrong; no one in their right mind would challenge either of them. The fact these two were fighting each other was a sign that the cooler head of Sagara had reached its limit. As far as anyone could guess, this was his answer for a 'peaceful solution'.

The Megaphone blared, "Sagara is now on the defensive as he takes a viscous beating from Tsubaki."

Everyone watched as Issei slugged Sousuke hard in his mid-section, causing the soldier to stumble backward. He relentlessly continued punching Sousuke, landing blow after blow in rapid succession without any mercy.

"Is this the end for the Student Council's Security aide? Is Sagara a one trick pony without his weapons? Will he find a way to overcome this unforgiving attack of Tsubaki?" This only increased the roar of contempt the male sport club members had towards this military nut.

Kaname was still paralyzed by what she had just witnessed. _Come on Sousuke... Don't let him beat you… _

"Had enough, Sagara?" the winded martial artist inquired.

Glancing up at Issei with profound contempt, "Why don't you come and find out." Sousuke growled.

"A badass to the end, but have it your way. I guess Chidori will finally see you for what you really are, nothing but a loud mouth bastard of an otaku." Tsubaki closed in as he performed a roundhouse kick aimed at Sagara's head. This attack would have brought the fight to an end if it hadn't been for the soldier's ability to bring his arm up and block the fatal kick.

"What is this? What is this?" the announcer said in astonishment.

Sousuke had enough; his eyes were that of a rabid dog ready to attack. He quickly wrapped his left arm around Issei's right leg locking it in place. Once the soldier had a firm grip on his opponent, he swept Tsubaki's left leg with his right leg while slamming his open palm into the victim's chest. The speed and harshness of this counter attack sent Issei uncontrollably falling backward. If the block of one of his most devastating attack hadn't been bad enough for Issei, Sousuke was coming down on top of him. The combination of their weight as Tsubaki impacted into the ground and Sagara's knee firmly planted in his groin; left the martial artist seeing stars.

Tsubaki had never seen anything like this before. He had been completely surprised by this maneuver, a counter attack to a roundhouse. Such a thing was unheard of in Karate. The sheer pain he felt from it was evidence of Sousuke's endurance and resolve. That by itself was enough to overwhelm him.

Sousuke rolled off of Issei and returned to his stance as he caught his breath.

Enthusiastically, the student with the megaphone yelled, "Can you believe it? Can you believe it? Sagara, despite all odds, triumphantly turned the table on Tsubaki. Well, you saw it here ladies and gentlemen."

The onlookers of the fight had just discovered the true determination and strength of Sousuke Sagara, which most who had witnessed this in the past, looked up to the sky through six feet of dirt. Others weren't lucky enough to be buried at all. As this fact set into students minds, a small smile appeared on Kaname's face, she already knew the strength of her protector. It was Issei's turn to find out why Sousuke kept blowing off his previous challenges.

He wasn't playing games any longer with the martial artist. Sousuke moved in to finish Issei off and to drive the point home. Ready to assault Tsubaki's groin into submission with his heel, or ram them into his throat, whichever came first.

This was delayed due to Sagara's victim's quick thinking. Issei saved himself from being a full soprano, by kicking both of his boots into Sousuke's chest. The force of this impact knocked the sergeant back against the north fence.

"It seems Tsubaki is far from being down for the count either" Was announced to the students watching the bout in front of them.

Back on his feet, Issei lunged in quickly with another attack. Sousuke blocked the punch by Issei with his left arm, and then drove his fist into his rival's stomach. Tsubaki stumbled back a few steps.

"Sagara counter attack." the nasal voice kept pace with the action.

Sousuke pivoted on his right heel, making Issei think a kick is coming. Instead, Sousuke landed his left elbow squarely in Issei's face, followed up by a hard jaw breaking right hook. Issei, using this momentum, extended his right leg out into a blistering quick round house maneuver. The kick caught Sousuke in the back.

The inhumanity of the fight continued at this level. Both boys give no quarter. Both fought like everything in their lives depended on the outcome. Punches, counter moves, kicks, jabs and throws, everything they had were used on each other.

Kaname had to do something before either of them got permanently injured. Her tempter grew as she tried to yell for the boys to stop, only to be drowned out by the roar of the crowd. Waving her arms around, whistling, and evening screaming did nothing except push Kaname to the limits of her frustration. The two boys were skilled fighters and were way too consumed by the desire of beating the crap out of each other to listen to a voice of reason. As Student Council Vise President, it was Kaname's job to keep these things from happening by being that voice. These two dim wits were already getting on her last nerve by ignoring her pleads for them to stop this non sense. She thought for a second as she eyed the male student with the megaphone.

"This has to be one of the greatest fights of all time here at Jindai High Schoo...." the megaphone was ripped from his hand by the VP.

Turning the volume to the highest setting, Kaname screamed at the top of her lungs into loud device, "**WHAT ARE YOU TWO IDIOTS DOING? I WANT YOU BOTH TO STOP RIGHT NOW!!!"** which was the only chance the blue haired girl was going to give these two morons.

Everyone covered their ears from the deafening overpowered command Kaname shouted. She was now the center of everyone's attention. Sousuke and Issei were even caught off guard by the electric screech of her enhanced voice. Their last punch landed on each other's face, knocking them both on their butts. They both looked up suddenly at Kaname, with an awestruck look.

"What the _hell_ is the meaning of this?" Kaname was livid, she knew these two were rival's but this had to stop. Right here, right now.

Issei was the first to open his mouth, as he spouted, "Kaname, stay out of the way. This is a fight between men!" He was still in his fighting mood.

"Men you say? All I see are two boys too damn stupid for their own good. As the Student Council Vise President, I can't afford to have you two killing each other just over some dumb rivalry." She had to show them who was in control now. Even if these two idiots didn't have any control of their pride, themselves.

Never breaking eye contact with Issei, Sousuke stated, "Miss Chidori, this is not a problem for your concern. I will resume my duties once I finish this." The tone in his voice was steady, sullen, and cold as ice with no emotions what so ever.

Kaname flinched when she heard 'Miss Chidori'; it had been a while since Sousuke had addressed her that way. Lately, she was at least 'Chidori', and only 'Miss Chidori' to some of his commanding officers. Did her outburst earlier have bothered him that much, that he felt they shouldn't be personal with each other anymore. She let out a sigh, she had forgotten again. Sousuke was still a child inside when it came to his emotions. They were easily confused and quickly covered up by his military training. Did Issei pick this time to challenge him because of the misunderstanding she had with Sousuke?

"Tsubaki, why did you challenge Sousuke this time?" she didn't really care about it, but she needed to get to the bottom of this somehow.

Issei was wrestled with his emotions, "It wasn't bad enough that I lost to him due to my own carelessness. I was upset when you rejected my feeling for you, but I understood. When I found out that you were dating this asshole, I couldn't take it anymore. How could you care that much for this two timing insensitive jerk?" he spat out.

"Dating Sousuke?" this had hit her as if someone had poured ice cold water down her back.

Even Sousuke raised an eye brow at the word dating as much as everyone else that heard Tsubaki's statement.

_This is the reason I don't like everyone knowing my personal business. _"First thing moron, Sousuke and me are not dating," _yet…_ "We are just going on a trip together and it shouldn't matter to you or anyone else who I choice to go out with, like or even care about." She stared dead into Issei's eyes as Kaname stomped her foot down toward him. "Yes, I do care about Sousuke."

At that sudden remark, she knew she had to be more careful with what she said. Yes, Kaname did care for Sousuke, at the very least. She had known it for some time now, even if she didn't admit it in words or to herself often. It was the reason she had done so many things in the past, good and bad. Sousuke had her heart and seeing the improvements he had made did nothing but tighten that grip. She had done him wrong by taking her anger on out him so many times. Kaname felt like she had almost betrayed him, but she didn't need the whole school making a big deal out of what happened between them. It wasn't their business if she liked, cared or even loved that stupid military otaku moron.

"Someone has to take care of him, to keep him in line and from blowing up the school. Got that!" her voice was stern and steady. "Yeah, he makes mistakes now and then, but he always takes responsibility for his actions and never blames anyone else for what he does."

Standing up straight, Kaname placed her left hand on her hip as she released the rest of her breath, "As for being insensitive. If I was you, I wouldn't be worrying much about him. Shouldn't you be more concerned with Mizuki?"

Those statements had hit Issei like a baseball bat to the head. He stared at her like he had never seen this side of Kaname before. He still had a crush on her and he was far from understanding any of his feelings for Mizuki, if he had any feelings for her.

Kaname took a minute to let her word sink into Issei's thick head. She glanced back over at Kyouko. Her friend was smiling at her. Kaname didn't even notice the picture she had taken.

Sousuke finally moved his intense eyes to look up at her. "Kaname..."

She turned around to meet his gaze. "Sousuke, explain yourself. I thought you knew better than fighting with him already." Kaname wasn't pleased with this at all. He had been doing so much better than what he had done in the past and now this.

He closed his eyes, and let out a deep breath. Opening his eyes once again to see her, "No need to worry, this will resolved very soon."

"It's resolved now. I don't want to hear about either of you two fighting again over this stupid rivalry." She was still in control of the situation, just the way she liked to be when it had anything concerning Sousuke. Looking back and forth between Sousuke and Issei, Kaname asked in a stern voice, "Do you both understand?"

"Roger." Was all Sousuke said as Issei rapidly nodded.

None of the students did anything to bring themselves to her attention while she was in this mood. No one wanted to suffer the scolding their two classmates just received from her.

The megaphone was tossed back toward student Kaname had snatched it from. _I came up because I was worried about him. Does it even matter to him one bit, NO! All he cared about was beating up Issei. Jerk!!! _She noticed Sousuke's Glock and the other weapons again. _At least he was fighting fair this time. Maybe he is learning after all. _

Kaname's temper was subsiding because of her victory at being able to keep the peace once again. A mischievous smile spread across her face. _I'll show him who's in charge. It will do him some good to think about things. Besides, I will make it up to him later after I tease him some, maybe over dinner tonight? _Kaname kneeled down quickly and picked up the Glock as she glanced back at him. She tapped the Glock on her thigh, "You can get this back when you get back to class." Taking the Glock pushing against her stomach, she slid it down inside the waist band of her skirt. Kaname could feel the coldness of the metal against her bare skin. She then slid the gun around inside her skirt, till it was just behind her right hip. Kaname turned back to face the crowd, looking over her right shoulder at him. She patted the Glock with her fingers while giving Sousuke an impish smile. This had been a bold move for her, but she felt it was right to tease him.

Sousuke swallowed hard, she was showing a playful side that he hadn't seen very much of. He had no clue what to do about it.

Kyouko smiled at her best friend, who made her way through the crowd of whispering students toward the stair well.

Issei and Sousuke both stood up, watching Kaname swaying her hips as she walked. Issei stared back toward Sousuke, he was still facing where she had disappeared into the doorway. The event that just happened played over and over in Tsubaki's mind. If Sagara got the girl, that was fine by him, but he would have to pay for it.

"**SA**...**GA**... **RA**..." Issei was far from happy camper-ville with what had just happened. His tone conveyed that as it dripped with venom. Tsubaki launched himself at Sousuke once again. Issei was relentless in his attack, thrusting his fist into unsuspecting Sagara's face.

The unknown sergeant had been still distracted by the sudden change in Kaname's demeanor, when he felt his former opponent's punch land on his left cheek. Stumbling back some this had brought Sousuke's attention back to Issei. _Still have some fight left in you, fine by me. _Once an opening was found, he counter-attacked. Landing blows repeatedly to his target's stomach and face. The impacts of his punches were so hard, his own calloused knuckles started to bruise.

Not one to be out done, Issei preformed a round house style kick, aimed at Sousuke's head. Sousuke ducked out of the way and put his right foot hard in to the martial artist's abdomen. Issei stumbled back from the kick. Sousuke had taken the offensive which he always preferred, swinging his left fist toward his opponent's head. Blocking the attack, Issei landed a palm strike under Sousuke's chin and caught his throat. Then followed up with a punch into Sousuke's stomach, this knocked the specialist back. Tsubaki was charging once more with bloodlust in his eyes.

Kaname, felt happy for her victory until, she heard Issei. Her joyful feeling had been washed away by Issei's yelling of Sousuke's last name. She headed back through the doorway. Kaname couldn't believe it. Those two morons were back at it again. But she noticed that their fighting styles were both different now. When she first saw the two idiots going at it, they were trying to do as much damage to each other as they could. Now they showed more skills and more technical movement. The hits and kicks were harder now. Issei looked like he was out for blood. Sousuke was trying to fend off his attacks, while working on a way to put his opponent down for good.

She was going to stop this once and for all. Pushing her way through the crowd, she moved to a point to where she was near them. The crowd was split now; the guys were cheered loudly while girls didn't make as much noise. They were watching the animalistic brutality unfold in front of them. Sagara's kick knocked Tsubaki back some. Kaname screamed, "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU BOTH TO STOP IT!!!" But neither of them were listening to her now.

_What would Sousuke normally do to get everyone's attention, think girl… think. That's right.... _ She reached for the Glock in the waistband of her skirt. Although she had never been trained with a real gun before, she remembered the training Sousuke gave her with the taser. Kaname had seen Sousuke use this gun many times before. She pulled the slide back some, seeing a round in the chamber. Sousuke always kept it armed and ready. With the gun in her right hand, she screamed for them to stop once more time. That was their last chance. She brought the Glock over head and pulled the trigger.

_BANG!_

The crowd became dead silent as a single brass casing could be heard bouncing around the roof. Kyouko looked at Kaname, shocked to see her friend holding the gun over her head. Sousuke stopped in his tracks suddenly as he had heard the mussel report of his own Glock.

Kaname brought the Glock down to her side. She moved her finger off the trigger, onto the trigger guard. She had remembered what Sousuke had said about the Glock safety being on the trigger.

The sergeant had seen Kaname tapping her foot and heard what she yelled.

"Sousuke why are you two still fighting?" she wanted her answer now.

Before Sousuke could say anything, Issei saw his opening. He used one of the Daidomyaku style Ultimate Secret Techniques, Fist Of Near Death! Hitting his target right in the chest, that unbelievable blow sent Sagara flying backward and crashed to the ground almost lifeless.

Kaname quickly turned and stared in awe at what just happened to Sousuke. Her eyes widened as she saw the blood running from her protector's mouth. Turning around and facing Issei, she snapped at him, "I told you _both_ to stop. What the _hell_ is your problem Issei?"

"Your _feelings_ for him are my problem. How the hell could you care for a selfish unaffectionate jerk like that?" his emotions were on the edge. He had never spoken to her this way before, especially to a hot tempered girl with a real gun in her hand. As far as Issei was concerned, the war had been lost, but he would inflict as much damage as he could. Well as much as he could on Sagara.

She had enough of this, "NOT that it makes it any of your **GOD DAMN BUSINESS**, but you really want to know why I care about him!" the sound in her voice would of made any Marine MTI proud. "For all of his mistakes and faults, he has never put himself before anyone else. He's always willing to help anyone that needs it and he sure the hell doesn't do it for thanks or self gratification." Kaname felt the over whelming need to stand up for Sousuke. "Besides, if you were anywhere near half the man Sousuke is, that would still be more than twice the man you'll ever be!" She knew her last comment carried a lot of heat with it.

Time slowed down a minute for her. Kaname realized she had been the first one to talk down about Sousuke. Always the first to criticize and punish him for every little mistake he had done. She always was the first to keep him in line at a moment's notice. Had the past few days shown her Sousuke in a different light? Had she been dwelling on his mistakes that much, not even noticing his improvements? It was kind of funny how she had never really seen Sousuke for all he was until now. Before, she had purposely ignored and scoffed at the things that truly made him seem remarkable.

Sousuke was probably the strongest person she knew. That was saying a lot, knowing her family's struggles, her mother's painful and courageous fight with cancer and her father's painstaking task of trying to keeping the family together. But, this young man had the weight of the world on his shoulders, a weight that would crush men twice his age. Not only had Sousuke saved her countless times already, but how many times had he saved the world with his armslave, the Arbalest? He never even got a simple 'thank you' for all his sacrifices. Not that he would ask for it, he was a faceless hero that the world never knew about. He would give his everything, even if it meant his life to protect her and the world she lived in, just so he would know she was safe.

It saddened her to finally see Sousuke for what he really was. A selfless warrior, that would never give a second thought about doing the right thing; no matter what it meant for him. But right now, she wasn't going to let anyone, especially Tsubaki talk down about him. She owed him that much, at the very least.

Time sped back up for Kaname as she watched Issei, who was practically foaming at the mouth. "Woman, what do you know about what it takes to be a man?"

"Kaname…" Kyouko was proud for her friend's confession about how she felt about Sousuke. Even if the word 'care' seemed to be a clear and complete understatement to her.

Kaname clenched her teeth as she looked like she was about to strike or shoot Issei herself. "I may not know what it likes to be a man, but I sure as hell know a man when I see one!"

Shinji pointed something out to Kyouko, during Kaname's statement. Neither of them could fathom what they were seeing.

"Tsubaki..." the voice was winded, tired, but the harden steel like resolve was still there.

The crowd of students all whispered the sounds of disbelief. No one could comprehend what they saw.

Issei and Kaname both turned toward the one who had spoken.

Just as they both realized that Sousuke wasn't lying down anymore. That he wasn't just standing, that Sousuke was locked on to Issei, like a cruise missile locked on target. The dark expression on his face would have frozen all four horsemen of the apocalypse in their tracks. Sousuke had started to use a move that Kalinin had taught him many years before. It was a move that Sousuke didn't use much. This was needed to be done, to put an end to this once and for all.

Sousuke right fist landed in the middle of Issei's face, blood shot out of his nose as it crumpled under the impact of Sagara's fist. It was quickly followed up by his right elbow, the lenses of his glasses cracked from this blow. The specialist quickly turned around and brought his left elbow crashing into Issei's throat. This elbow strike had collided into Tsubaki's larynx, which caused him to gasp due to lack of air. The next part of this devastating move was a crushing back hand from his left fist and was finished off by Sousuke slamming his white knuckled right fist into the martial artist's face. The move was flawless, preformed quick enough to prevent any counter attack.

Issei Tsubaki flew backward before landing violently, much like someone had dropped a ton of concrete on the ground. Dazed and confused, Issei laid there all sprawled out unconsciously wondering if he was hit by a speeding semi truck or a freight train; his glasses landed a few meters away with both lenses cracked. Just beyond that, a single molar of his came rolling to a stop.

Sousuke stood there in his fighting stance, watching to see if there were any conscious movements left in Tsubaki. None were found.

As Kaname stood there, she couldn't believe that Sousuke could have gotten back up from Issei's last blow. She knew he was strong in body and had seen the strength of his spirit. But she never had seen the fortitude of his resolve at this level before.

Yes, he had won the fight. But did it end the war? Or did this just make the situation that much worse? The more Kaname thought about, the more her anger grew. She was defusing the situation with words. As much as she really wanted to clobber Issei herself, she had been talking it out. No matter how heated the words may have been. It wouldn't escalate the matters any more. She did tell them to both stop. Kaname did yell at Issei for that last punch of his. But she couldn't find the words to chastise Sousuke right now. With the mix of emotions she had at the moment; there was only one thing she could think about, to show him the reason why he shouldn't have ignored her orders.

Kaname turned to Sousuke as she took a step toward him, "Sou… suke...."

He turned his head toward her, still breathing heavily. "Yes, Kaname?"

Lucky for him, the Glock was back in the waistband of her skirt. Unlucky for him, it had been replaced with her trusty harisen. Seeing the fire in her eyes as her temples twitched, this in no way prepared him for the harisen attack he was about to receive.

"…? Kan…"

_Whack!!!_

In one clean smooth motion, Kaname swung the large paper fan making contact with Sousuke's head just under his right side of his jaw. The impact from her fan sent him spinning like a top as he crashed into the south fence and toppled over. It was a perfect swing, only one that could be made by an avid softball or baseball player.

"Next time, when I say _stop_… I mean stop!" She turned around and headed toward the doorway, marching this time. The crowd parted for her like the red sea, nobody wanted to suffer the same fiery tempter that their fellow classmate just received from Kaname.

Sousuke lay flat out on the roof heavily dazed, but not completely unconscious. In a wavered voice, "That really did hurt.........."


	4. The Selflessness of a Soldier

A/N:Wow, it's been a long time since I could say I've posted another chapter so soon again. This wouldn't have happen with out the help of Glockbabe and the support of the people who reviewed chapter 3. I really do enjoy and appreciate all the reviews, so keep them coming!

As for what coming next, this chapter was wrote over last winter and early spring, along with chapters 5, 6, and first half of 7. As much as I enjoy the suggestions of what I should or might do next, trust me I'm sure you all will enjoy them as much as I've has creating and writing them. Plus, I have up to chapter 15 planned out for this story as of the time this is posted. Also I've been working on redoing my other story "New Recruit" and it's next 3 chapters. I've also made an attempt doing a short story which has so far turned into a small 4 chapter story. Hopefully I'll be able to get time with Glockbabe to get that one edit soon and posted.

So without any further delays, here is the next chapter in FMP! Road Trip story.

Btw, I do not own Full Metal Panic, nor do I own the copyrights to any vehicles and/or equipment mentioned in this story. I only own the plot… and that's still up for debate, really.

**Full Metal Panic! Road Trip**

_Chapter: 4_

_The Selflessness of a Soldier_

**November 2, 12:39 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Jindai High School, Chofu, Japan**

**South building, 3****rd**** Floor**

**T-minus 20 hours 21 minutes**__

Wandering the halls of Jindai, Kaname's anger still raged inside. She didn't want to be around anyone after leaving the scene on the roof. Her normal places to hide, the second floor girl's bathroom, the girl's locker room, the library, the Student Council room, and the roof of the north building were all overrun with other students during lunch time. As much as she had expected, no one had come looking for her with her outbursts. Nobody wanted to risk being anywhere close to her. Of course the only one that would have followed her was lying dazed and nearly unconscious on the roof.

_Why did he keep fighting? I told them to stop already. Why was he fighting with Issei this time anyway? Sousuke normally would just find a way to avoid it or something. It doesn't matter, he's such a jerk. Was I stupid enough to think this trip would mean that he's changing for the better?_

As she walked down the hall, Kaname saw the school's storage room. It had been locked most of the time, but after checking the door and finding it unlocked, for some reason, she slipped inside. There she found the room filled with extra desks and old chairs. Leaning back against the door, the blue haired girl felt the Glock in her skirt. She pulled the subcompact firearm out abruptly, more than ready to throw it away. She didn't want any reminders of the military misfit moronic idiot named Sousuke Sagara. But as much as she wanted to, Kaname just couldn't bring herself to throw the gun away. She brought it down in front of her, resting the small pistol in her open palm. "Glock..... 26..... Austria.... 9x19...." she said softly to herself as she read down the left side of the slide. Even loaded, the gun seemed light in weight. The class rep stifled a laugh as she thought of how the small pistol reminded her of him. Sousuke had always carried this Glock on him ever since the first day he showed up at Jindai.

_How many other normal High School boys carried guns on themselves all the time, in school no less? _"Hmmm................." _This gun is just like him. It does what you want it to do. Doesn't think about what it's told to do, just pull its trigger and it fires. It's just a tool like Sousuke, with no common sense at all. _Kaname pondered over the diminutive firearm in her hand for a while. The thoughts about him and this gun relinquished her anger some. _Damn it why does he over react at times? I was working things out with Issei. We were talking at least, I could have stopped the fight without either of them getting hurt any further, but no Sousuke had to knock him out completely. They'll just be fighting over something else later, if not me again. _

"They were fighting over me?" Kaname's anger slowly started to dwindle away at this realization. Once again she had let her anger and stubbornness get the better of her. "He did hit Issei after I told him to stop… that idiot." the girl murmured to herself. Checking her watch to see that lunch would be over soon, "I need to get back to class and talk to Sousuke, dammit." Returning the Glock to back of her skirt, the inky maned girl headed out of the room.

As Kaname made her way back to class, she ran across a group of girls gossiping in the hallway. Normally she wouldn't have cared, but she overheard them going on about the fight and Sousuke. One of the girls swooned as the tall girl made the comments "Yeah, Issei came into Sagara's class and wanted to fight him over Chidori. It shocked everyone there from what I heard. Sagara didn't give it a minute of thought before accepting Tsubaki's challenge."

Kaname took a spot just out of their sight and then listened to the girls.

"Oh man, that so romantic." The chubby girl with short black hair continued to swoon.

The other girls giggled at their overweight friend. The girl with short brown hair that was about Kaname's size snickered, "I can't believe it still. So Tsubaki and Sagara were really fighting? He has been challenged by Tsubaki a few times before, but Sagara always found a way to avoid it. It doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, I know. That's something you don't see every day." the shorter girl, who looked young enough to be in junior high, said. "I saw the fight. It was very intense; they were beating the crap out of each other. Sagara was holding his own against Tsubaki, going blow for blow. Neither of them was backing down or nothing. They both seemed really determined to win." she added.

"That Sagara guy must be really crazy. I mean everyone in school already knows he's some kind of maniac, but Tsubaki is the head of the Martial Art club. I wonder why Sagara would want to get into the fight with him. I mean he would have to be more of a nut than he usually is to do that." the short brown haired girl stated.

The chubby girl, "Well didn't Tsubaki confess his feeling to her, just to be shot down by Chidori a while ago?"

"Yes and hearing Chidori tell him that she cared about Sagara during the fight made him really upset." the younger looking girl stated. "You could tell by how Tsubaki attacked Sagara like a crazy person after she left the first time."

"I don't see why." the brown haired girl said. "It's not like Chidori said she loved Sagara. All she said was that she cared about him. Caring about someone isn't the same as loving someone."

The chubby girl, "If they were fighting over Chidori, Sagara must really care about her. Cause didn't he get backup and knock Tsubaki completely out? How romantic was that? " She had made the last part sound so noble. As if she was talking about a knight fighting for his princess.

A tall girl with glasses and long black hair said, "You don't hit someone that hard if you only 'care' about a girl. And your right, she didn't say that she loved Sagara, there is a difference. Judging from what I heard about Sagara's reaction, he feels something a lot more than just _care_ for her. You don't fight that hard without some very strong emotions pushing you."

The others looked over at her. They realized she was right about that. The shorter girl said "I know Sagara did seem pretty mad at first. But at the end he seemed to be fighting very seriously. I saw how hard Sagara hit Tsubaki. He knocked one of his teeth out of his mouth and broke his glasses."

The brown haired girl asked, "What I don't get is why Sagara would risk his neck for a girl he just asked out? I mean Chidori and him aren't even a couple." She didn't understand the dynamics of their relationship, much like most of the students of Jindai.

"I guess it was true about what I heard to what started it. I would be pissed if someone told me I couldn't go on a date with someone I liked. I would be kicking their ass also." the tall bespectacled girl said frankly.

The short girl and the brown haired girl looked at tall girl "Where did you hear that?"

Smiling, the tall jet black mane girl continued, "One of the girls in class 4, second year, told me after the fight."

"Told you what?" the brown haired girl wanted to know.

"What did Tsubaki say to Sagara?" The chubby girl was acting like she was reading a cheap romance novel.

Taking a breath, the tall girl with glasses spoke. "From what I heard and understand, she said that Tsubaki came in to Sagara's class and challenged him to a fight. He told Sagara that if he could beat him in a fair fight, Tsubaki would back off and not interfere with their personal business anymore. But if Sagara lost, he would have to leave Chidori alone the rest of the time till they graduated from Jindai."

Kaname gasped for air as she heard the girl's comment, she didn't know anything about this. _So that's what it was about. That asshole Issei, what right does he have to put Sousuke in that situation? _Then reality set in, she had jumped to conclusions again, thinking this was one of their normal fights. She really didn't know what Sousuke was fighting for and now it was very clear to her.

"No wonder Sagara used that move on him. I had never seen a move like that before; not even in any of those martial art movies. That definitely wasn't karate. But then again, I've never seen that style of fighting before, period."

The girls continued talking, but Kaname had heard enough. She now knew why that Sergeant was fighting and why he knocked Issei out after she told him to stop. The anger she had toward Sousuke was now shifting to Tsubaki. That martial artist got what he deserved as far as she cared. Issei wasn't a bad guy, but went it came to Sousuke; he couldn't accept that loss to a real soldier. Not that he knew Sagara was a soldier, Issei only saw a military maniac. It's not like he knew the reason why Sagara was hanging around her either, but that wasn't his business. There was no reason for him to challenge Sousuke to fight like that.

_There wasn't a reason for me to hit Sousuke either...... _She finally realized that all she did was take her anger out on her protector. How much of it was her own fault? Yeah, Issei already had her fuming, but once Sousuke knocked him out. Kaname unloaded her temper on him. Like many times before, Sousuke had been her outlet for her frustrations. She had been trying to justify it since she left the roof. It was easy for her to do that while she was still mad, for all the disruptions that Sergeant had caused in her life when he first got to school, but he wasn't the same nut that he was back then. Sighing, Kaname thought about how much she put all the blame on him and she knew it wasn't right. He was never willing to abandon her, always standing by her side. No matter how much she screamed, yelled, or smacked him around. She had the feeling that Sousuke was doing more than just his duty to protect her, but she never wanted to admit it to herself before now.

In her heart she knew why, he was her protector from people that wanted what was in her head. She knew he would do anything for her. He rescued her from being kidnapped by terrorists, gangs and yakuza alike. Sousuke would save her from overly zealous students out for revenge, being killed by traitors and things of her every day normal life. Well as normal as you could call it for being a teen age whispered girl that seems to be in constant danger. But he was always there, most of the time. All of his actions were for her, he never made a big deal out of doing it for himself, he would go through hell just for her.

Why had she been so quick to think that is was just because of his duty? Was that the way she could justify hiding her true feeling from herself? She had started to notice that he wasn't some military robot, that he had feelings too. Was he too self conscious to express his feelings? Did he even understand those feelings? From what she knew, he had a rough upbringing. Melissa once told her, that he lost his parents when he was a kid. She didn't know when or how, but she gave Kaname the impression that he had been alone most of his life.

Was he any different than she was? Her life was shattered by her mother's death from cancer. She felt abandoned by her father, who insisted that she stay in Japan while he and her younger sister returned to America. The hell and torment she went through in junior high school. The thoughts of suicide, the never ending loneliness she felt, before coming to Jindai. She had made improvements herself with new friends here and was now looked up to, for her athletic abilities and her role on the student council. Then this storm named Sousuke Sagara showed up in her nice tight world and turned everything upside down. She didn't feel lonely anymore, because he was always around her now.

Kaname let out another sigh; she knew that if he had lost to Tsubaki, that military otaku idiot would have honored his word, no matter if it was on an unfair challenge, much like the time when he lost the 'flirting' contest. By the time she had gotten back to the park, he was already undressing in front of everyone. Sgt. Sagara was just that honorable of a person, even to a fault. He fought with Issei this time to be able to stay close to her. And in the end, he won for her. Sousuke was always fighting for her. _Damn it, why didn't I just ask him... I'm such an idiot...._

Then it dawned on her, _Why am I still here? I need to find Sousuke. _She rushed down to the nurse's office to find that Issei was the only one there. He was still unconscious and the nurse said that she hadn't seen Sagara. Kaname ran up to the roof, where the fight had taken place. The more she ran, the more her guilt built up inside of her. The realization of how far Sousuke would go for her without a thought of his own well being weighed heavily on her heart and mind.

_Shit, he's not here. _The roof was now clear with the only remnant of the fight was a few drops of blood. Kaname raced back down the stairs when she came across one of her fellow classmates on the second floor, Tomomi Isomura. The class Rep asked. "Have you seen Sousuke recently?"

"Yeah, Kazama and Tokiwa were carrying him back to class." Tomomi said with some concern. "Did you beat him up again, Chidori?"

"I might as well have, thanks;" is all she said as she rushed across the second floor to the north building, she felt bad enough already.

Once she reached the class room, Kaname stopped just outside the door. Catching her breath, she tried to compose herself. As much as she tried, the feelings couldn't keep the sullen expression from her face. Sliding the door open, she saw the class almost empty except for Shinji, Kyouko, and Sousuke. They were tending to his bumps and bruises. Kyouko was wrapping Sagara's head while Shinji sat next to him wrapping his left wrist. This sight did nothing to help her mood. Looking down at her feet, she noticed something. In the trash can were those love letters that Sousuke got earlier. They now lay shredded in the trash and from the looks of it, they were not even opened before meeting their fate.

Kaname's heart sank even further as she took it all in. It was bad enough that she already felt guilty for hitting him on the roof, but all of her regrets of this day came flooding back into her. All her emotional out bursts had been because she misunderstood things concerning her protector. Kaname had yelled, and hit him for doing nothing to her. The letters were not his fault. As she could see now, He didn't even read them. The fight with Tsubaki was now understandable. It wasn't for personal gain, it was so he could continue to be close to her without interference from Issei. Stubborn or not, she knew what she needed to do. _I've been SUCH an idiot............_

The blue haired girl approached the battered Sergeant at his desk. She could tell he was lost in thought. Shinji and Kyouko both looked up at her standing to side right of her own desk. "Sousuke....?" she said in concerned tone.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Sousuke said "Chidori?" He didn't expect to see her like this.

Bowing in front of him, "I-I'm sorry for hitting you. I'm sorry for everything today." Her inky blue hair cascaded down over her face keeping anyone from seeing the tears welling up in her eyes, closing her eyes to keep the tears from falling.

"Kana…" is all Kyouko could say seeing her best friend.

Sighing, Sousuke slowly stood up. Albeit his body was still sore from the fight, his determination wouldn't let that stop him from doing what he felt was right.

Kyouko saw him get up, "Sousuke take it eas............."

That's all she got out before he interrupted her with, "It's not a problem, Tokiwa."

When she opened her eyes, Kaname's tears started to fall on his wabakis. He was standing there in front of her.

With his stiff muscles, he slowly lowered himself down to look into her face. The Sergeant brought his right hand to her chin, lifting her face into his view. Her tears were running down her cheeks. While wiping the tears from her eyes with his thumb, Sousuke wasn't sure what to say. But these words came from somewhere deep inside of him, "Don't cry Kaname and don't bow to me either. You're too important for that, I'm sorry my fight with Tsubaki upset you. I know you've had a rough day and I'm still causing you too much trouble for you to apologize to me." He tried to smile, but his swollen jaw didn't help any.

Hearing this, her emotions were running wild inside herself. She had taken all of her anger out on him, and here he was saying it was his own fault for her day. _Sousuke..._ Her tears started to flow at his nobility, Kaname didn't know whether to jump into his arms or fall to the floor as she cried. "No Sousuke, I have to. I've yelled, screamed and hit you today. First I was jealous because of those stupid letters. I took my anger out on you before you knew about them. Then I thought I knew why you were fighting with Issei. I was wrong, I didn't really know about the position Issei put you in. You were fighting for me. You don't deserve to be scolded for standing up for what you believe in by me. I'm truly sorry. Can you forgive my foolishness?" Kaname started saying this with sorrow and regret in her voice. By the end, she had fear and hope in her tone.

Sousuke was silent when he saw her like this. He knew how strong she was, but at moments like this she was truly amazing in his eyes. After listening to her talk, he thought about what she said. His feelings, even though he didn't completely understand them yet, told him what he must do. The young Sergeant stared firmly into her chocolate orbs with his own steel grey eyes. "It's okay, Kaname."

Kyouko smiled, seeing the depth of his kindness. Kaname could just about kill him and somehow he would find a way in his own heart to forgive her. This had been a trait of her best friend that kept many guys at bay. Sousuke on the other hand, didn't let this get in the way. He accepted this about her and still stood by her side no matter what. Well, when she would let him at least.

Kaname still couldn't believe what he said, but was more than happy to hear it. He would forgive her and hold nothing against her. "Okay Sousuke and thank you for everything."

"It's not a problem." she couldn't help but grin hearing _those_ words come from him.

The blue haired angel was about to fall into his arms and embrace him, when the class bell chimed and students started to flow back into the class room.

They both stood up, Kaname quickly turning around to face her desk. Sousuke took a little bit longer, his muscles still ached and would need a while until they didn't complain about his movements.

Just as she was about to take her seat, the now smiling girl remembered the gun in the waistband of her skirt. Kaname reached back to take his right hand before sitting down in her chair, placing his hand on the back of her right hip.

".......................................?" the battle hardened boy stiffened at the action of the girl holding his hand.

With a cheerful smile, she peered back over her shoulder. "You may want this back now." she did make him a promise after all.

Kyouko and Shinji looked perplexed by their class reps action.

Sousuke relaxed when he felt his Glock under her uniform jacket. He quickly and gently drew it out. Making sure none of their other classmates saw the gun. He returned it back in his holster where it belonged. Then he leaned close to her ear, blowing across it as he spoke, "Thanks for keeping it safe for me."

Kaname would have melted into a warm quivering puddle on the floor if not for the other students around. She gave him a delightfully bright smile, "It's not a problem."

xxxxx

**14:04 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Jindai High School, Tokyo, Japan **

**1****st**** floor, Chemistry Lab**

**T-minus 18 hours 52 minutes**__

The chemistry teacher had just finished going over the outline for today's 'Dry Ice' experiments. The class had been busy taking notes of what to except during this lab. The teacher stressed many times about the danger involved with these experiments. Finding the reactions of different items with the frozen carbon dioxide could be dangerous, due to its ability to displace oxygen as it sublimated. The need to wear eye protection and heavy gloves was stressed because of it's extreme low temperature of -78.5 C (-109.3 F). This could easily cause a cold burn to bare skin.

After the teacher had stressed these safeties, he started to read off the names of the students that would be grouped together for the labs. He read off the names for group one, followed by groups two, three and four. Then it came time to read off the name for group five. Speaking in a firm voice, "Group five will be Kaname Chidori, Kyouko Tokiwa, Maya Mukai and Shiori Kudo."

The girls all smiled at each other, they were glad to be teamed up together. They knew each other very well, Kaname and Kyouko both did well in science, but Kaname did better than most lately for some reason.

After a minute, the teacher looked down his list of groups to group 6. Taking a deep breath and sighing. He read the names off with an irritated tone in his voice, "Group six will be Shinji Kazama, Koutarou Onodera, Shouji Gatou, and Sousuke Sagara." It was understandable by the students in class that the teacher would say that last person's name with some anger. This young man had caused a number of disasters to this school. In this lab alone, Sagara had knocked students out of the windows or on to the floor, blown up many things in class and even blown up the entire class room a few times already.

The students replayed one of those days over in their minds. The day that came to fore front, was the day they were being loud and rowdy for a substitute teacher. The poor teacher didn't have a clue how to get the class back under control. Kaname was trying her best to calm everyone down. Then the unthinkable happened. That fool of a teacher looked to the only other student that wasn't making any noise, who was Sagara. When he was asked to help 'quite the class down...' just him reaching for the grenade had most of the students shutting up. Most of them knew that Sagara had a bad habit of over doing everything. Not that it was bad enough to toss the grenade into the middle of chemistry class, but the chemicals they were working with didn't react well with a grenade going off, even if it was just a flashbang. The following fire ball set the room's sprinklers system off and everyone got completely drenched to the bone.

The reality of spending the rest of the day in their gym clothes hadn't been pleasant either. The windy day, did little to help some of the students from catching the chills on their way home from school.

The teacher stared intently over at Sousuke, nearly hissing, "I'm excepting you to be on your best behavior today, Mr. Sagara."

"Sir, I will do my best to make sure my performance toady is up to your expectations!" he stated as if he was reporting to a senior officer.

The teacher dropped his head, quietly muttering, "That what I'm worried about."

The teacher continued reading off the names of the students in the following groups. Once he was finished, they broke into their assigned groups and started getting the items needed for their lab experiments. Beakers, vials and other glass items all clanged off each other as they made themselves busy. Once every one was ready at their work stations, the teacher passed out the pellets of dry ice to each group.

Everything was going well as the students started. The teacher made his patrol to make sure no one had any problems starting. Once he saw that everyone was working well on their labs, he returned to his desk. The students talked among themselves as they worked. The lab wasn't the only thing on their mind.

At group five, Kaname and the girls were already a head of most of the other groups, when the girl's topic changed from their lab to girl talk. Maya and Kaname were on one side of the work station, with windows of the room to the blue haired girl's right. Kyouko and Shiori were on the other side of the work station.

Maya started off with the first question. "So Kaname… how much do you really _care_ for Sagara?" given a mischievous smile as she asked.

She gulped, "Why did you ask me that?" Kaname didn't want to think about that right now. "He needs someone to keep an eye on him and out of trouble." The sound of her voice spoke of only half truths.

The questioning look on her friend's faces let her know they weren't buying that act. "Oh, I don't know. Cause you said you did on the roof today during lunch and you sounded like you care for him a lot more than you really want to admit to." Maya didn't really care if she was in denial or not, but it was fun to tease her friend about a certain boy.

Kaname glanced over at her, "Yes, I did say that I cared for him. It's not like I'm in love with him. As vice president it's just one of my responsibilities. Ha ha ha ha ha....." That laugh of denial was all too familiar to her close friends.

Shiori had something to add, "Yeah, she only cares about him. That the reason she brings him bento to school and they hang out together all the time."

Kyouko wasn't about to be left out either, "If you only cared about him, then why were you so gloomy that week at the beach? When he didn't say anything about your bikini and had to leave in the middle of it."

Kaname shot her bespectacled friend a dreadful look.

"...........", Kyouko knew she hit a nerve there. As far as she knew Sousuke hadn't said anything yet about her wearing bikini or how she looked in it.

Then blue haired girl's deadly gaze turned to a triumphant smile.

Kyouko blinked at this, Maya and Shiori both looked a little lost. Shiori then asked, "What's that smile for?"

Kyouko caught on, "Sousuke finally said something about that white bikini?"

Kaname simply nodded while still smiling.

Maya wasn't that shocked, "I'm not surprised. You did call him yesterday to come down and look at bikinis with us. It was more surprising he even showed up."

Shiori had not heard about this before, "You mean Sagara went clothes shopping with you girls last night?"

Kyouko had to quickly fill her in, "Yeah and not only did he show up. But he was dressed up like a normal boy for once. No military clothes at all."

Shiori looked over at Sousuke at the other work station next to them for a second and then looked back toward her friends, "We are talking about Sousuke Sagara here, aren't we?"

Maya answered, "Yes and he did look _good_ last night. That shirt showed off his arms well and those jeans…" She smiled a little bit remembering how handsome he looked at the store and then asked her class rep, "When did Sagara start wearing cologne?"

Kaname didn't like the look on Maya's face, but she knew her friend was just admiring him. Although she didn't know the answer to her question, "I don't know. He's never wore anything like that before."

Kyouko added, "Sousuke smelled as good as he looked. I guess he wanted to show Kaname that even he can change for the better."

Kaname wasn't about to get jealous over her best friend's comment. But she still seemed so, "Yes, he looked very good last night. As surprising as it was, he did smell nice for once. Not like gunpowder or oil, like he normally does."

Shiori had missed it all last night. "No one would believe that if you told them around school. That Sagara was acting like a normal boy."

Maya looked over at her friend to her right, seeing the jealous look on Kaname's face. "Why the jealous face, I thought you only 'cared' about Sagara?"

The class rep sighed, "I do only care about him, nothing more."

Kyouko was getting a little tired of her best friend's denial. She fired off the first round "Well let's see Kana… that's why when we found you in that hospital after the class trip was hi-jacked, you started crying when you saw him."

Shiori was going to get in on this. She got the second round in "There was the time that he bought you those gold earrings and bracelet. The look on your face was priceless when he gave them to you."

"How 'bout when Mia started flirting with Sousuke after he was named one of the judges for the 'Miss Jindai' beauty pageant. Even though you blew off her challenges for the pageant before, you suddenly entered the pageant after you didn't want anything to do with it." Kyouko fired with the third round.

Maya wasn't about to be left out. She fired off two of her own rounds "Also that you went away with him to that south pacific island and the look on your face when he asked you to go with him on this trip."

"Or the fact you left school for a few days during mid-terms, after Sousuke hadn't shown up to class for a couple of days. Then you both returned together later." Kyouko wasn't about to stop now. She knew her friend pretty well and had a clue what she had done. So she thought.

"Let's not forget about how you seemed to be fighting that girl Tessa over him." Maya still had some rounds left.

Shiori fired off another round "Yeah, you seemed to know Tessa before she ever showed up at school"

"You did get pretty jealous over those letters he got from those other girls" Kyouko had seen this one with her own eyes.

"OK, I get it. I get it. I like him." Kaname finally muttered this just loud enough for the other girls to barely hear.

The other girls looked at her wondering if she was being truthful to herself.

Momentarily defeated, Kaname dropped her shoulders and head, with sigh "Alright I really like him. I just don't want everyone in my personal business."

"Kana, I'm pretty sure the whole school knows already that there is something going on between you two." Kyouko gave a comforting smile as she informed her best friend.

Maya added, "Don't worry girl. We are all your friends here and we only tease you about him cause you act like you're in denial about him. We all knew you liked him a great deal. I know he's like a bull in a china shop, but if he makes you happy, don't worry about what others do or say. Just worry about you and him. We got your back."

Kyouko and Shiori both nodded their heads.

Kaname felt like an idiot, but she also felt this weight lift off her shoulders. The girls were right; it was foolish to deny her feelings for him any longer. "Thanks guys."

The girls of group five continued talking amongst themselves. They worked on their lab as they chatted. Paying closer attention to what each other were saying than what they were doing.

On the other side of the room, the boys were not far behind the girls in their lab experiments. The teacher had made a few rounds, always making sure to check on this group more than the others. His concern was to make sure that one student didn't turn these already potentially dangerous experiments into something more catastrophic. Explosions, fires or clothes eating bacteria had already happened with this student. God only knew what else could happen when Sagara was around. The boys themselves had been talking amongst each other. Onodera, better known among his friends as Ono-D, kicked the chat into high gear. Switching the topic to girls was something that always had Sousuke and Shinji feeling a little uncomfortable about in the past. Of course, Ono-D already knew this.

Both Shinji and Sousuke flinched when Ono-D started, "So Shinji, when are you to ask a girl out on a date?" He had wondered when this milestone would happen.

Nearly dropping the beaker in his hands, Shinji stammered at the question, "W-what makes you think I haven't been out on date already?"

Perplexed, Ono-D stared over at Kazama, wondering if he really was playing or misunderstood what he asked. "Oh come on Shin, hanging out with the girls from class in a group isn't what I meant. I mean a _date_!" Giving Shinji a stern glance, Ono-D continued, "And paying a girl to take her photo doesn't count either." He couldn't believe his shy friend could be so dense.

Shinji tried not to sound too depressed "O-oh… you meant that?"

Noticing that he might have been a little hard on his buddy, "Shin, I know you like girls as much as you like Arm Slaves. With as many pictures I've seen of yours, I'm sure you worked hard to get those pictures. But an AS won't keep you warm at night, if you know what I mean!"

Sousuke thought about saying something on the Arm Slave's heating and cooling system, but decided against it.

Shinji sighed, "I'm sorry. I know what you mean, but I don't have your or Sousuke's luck with girls." He knew both of his friends had better luck with the opposite sex then he did.

Ono-D smiled at his bespectacled friend. "Yeah, I guess I've been kinda lucky with the girls." then glanced over at Sousuke, "But Sousuke has the dumbest luck with a few girls."

The boy that Onodera was talking about turned his head toward him with a formidable stern expression. Ono-D flinched at the glance Sagara gave him "Hey Sousuke, don't get me wrong. Kaname is one attractive babe and all. It just that… well… Chidori's kinda… high maintenance, you know. She seems to except guys to act a certain way. You all ready know this, if they don't, she'll blow them off or scream and yell at you. You ever wonder why Chidori never had a boyfriend before you got here." He sighed before continuing "Honestly I don't know how you do it. You're the only guy I know that has put up with her and survived. You must be a glutton for punishment to be around her with all the mistakes you've made."

"I think Kaname had a boyfriend before from what Kyouko told me," Kazama knew she wasn't as bad as Ono-D implied. He should have stopped right there, but he didn't. "If I remember correctly, she went out on a date with him again to an amusement park not too long ago."

Sousuke remembered that day also.

The glass vial shattering echoed around the room. Most of the students in class stopped what they were doing and looked around when they heard the noise.

Shinji, Ono-D, and Gatou all were stunned at the sight, along with several other students that could see what had happened.

There stood Sousuke with what remained of a glass vial in his right clenched fist. Although he seemed calm, the muscles in his right arm were rigid. His shaggy brown hair hung down in his eyes enough to keep anyone from reading his face. The mention of Kaname's date with that guy Fuwa reminded him of those uncertain mixed emotions he had that day when he saw them together. He had been there to understand why Kaname was acting so strange the days before. Watching her having fun with that guy made him second guess his choice not to take him out sooner.

Kaname heard the glass shatter and was suddenly confused. She didn't see Sousuke's hand, but wondered. _What was that about?_

Maya and Shiori both were concerned when they saw what happened.

Kyouko heard what Shinji had said and could have slapped him with a harisen as hard as Kaname had hit Sousuke earlier. _Why did he have to bring that day of all days up to Sousuke? _She knew how much it bothered him to see Kaname with Fuwa.

When the three other girls turned to face Kyouko, they had seen her irritation, which quickly turned somber. But before they could ask, she waved her hand in front of herself, not wanting to be asked about what she overheard.

The teacher wondered what happened, "Is there a problem here?"

Both Ono-D and Shinji instantly answered together, "NO Sir!"

That earned them a quick laugh from the other students.

Leaning over to help Shinji with Sousuke's hand, Ono-D chastised him, "Damn it Shinji, you know how Sousuke feels about Chidori better than anyone else in school. You just had to bring that up right after he had that fight with that dumbass Tsubaki."

"Sorry… Sousuke you okay?" The bespectacled boy was already working his fellow otaku's hand.

Sousuke didn't answer; his dark expression suggested that his mind was in deep thought as he focused on his hand.

Looking up at Shinji, Ono-d snapped at him in a low voice. "Great… just fuck'n great! You better make sure Sousuke get's a good grade on this assignment." He had an evil smirk on his face as he told his buddy, "I'll tell the girls who tried to steal Kaname's panties and who was trying to peep on them at the hot springs."

Removing what looked like the last of the glass from Sousuke's hand, he regretted ever telling Ono-D about that night after hearing his threat. "Hey, don't worry about me helping Sousuke and I wouldn't say any about the hot springs if I were you. Unless someone wants one of their secret crushes leaked about a certain girl soft ball club member, if you know what I mean."

"…" Onodera flinched at his friend's comment. Ono-D glared back at Shinji, just how did he know all about his secret crushes anyway? It wasn't _that_ a big deal, one of those crushes did have to do with a certain girl on the girls' softball team. But if a certain war-crazy boy found out about that crush. It could have a quite painful (scratch that) a very excruciatingly painful repercussion. Ono-D wasn't sure, but he didn't know if Sousuke could be the overly jealous type. Who would want to risk it to find out if he was? _He did just fight Issei today for Kaname, and knocked the crap out of Issei. _"OK, okay. As long as we finish these experiments, we'll get a good grade on it and all will be fine."

The teacher walked over to see what had happened, "Is everything ok here boys?"

Shinji and Ono-D snapped off, "It's not a problem, Sir. We've got it under control." Shinji hid Sousuke's hand from the teacher.

Gatou, who never seemed to be noticed in the class, seemed to go frantic as he started writing in a notebook. It was as if he was relaying everything that was happening in notes for a book or something.

The girls wondered what was going on over at the boys work station. They could tell by the way the boys were acting, they were hiding something.

It took a few minutes for the class to settle down and get back to work. Sousuke came out of his blank state while Shinji finished wrapping his hand. The boys started working on the lab again.

All was going fine till Kyouko noticed something, "Aaaa… I don't think that beaker is supposed to be doing that."

By the time the other girls looked to see what Kyouko was talking about, the sealed beaker was starting to crack.

Sousuke turned to the girls work station after hearing Kyouko's comment. He saw the sealed beaker with dry ice submerged in water and the gasses were not venting. "Not good!" is all he said as he charged towards Kaname. She was less than half a meter from the beaker.

That comment had stopped Shinji and Ono-D from their work. They both looked to see what Sousuke was doing, and followed his lead.

"…?"

The soldier shoved Maya backward and dove for the blue haired girl. Shinji jumped toward Kyouko and Shiori while Ono-D reached for Maya.

Just as Sousuke tackled Kaname, the beaker exploded and sent glass shrapnel everywhere.

Everyone else nearby hid behind work stations or covered their face with notebooks. When it was over, they looked to see what happened.

Maya opened her eyes to find herself with her face buried in Onodera's chest. His arms were wrapped around her holding her tightly. She was about two meters away from where she had been standing before. Ono-D had put himself between her and the exploding glass beaker.

Kyouko opened her eyes when she felt her body being pressed tightly into Shinji's. His right arm was holding her firmly. Their faces were centimeters away from each other as their heads landed in Shiori's lap.

Shiori couldn't believe what had just happened. She still couldn't fathom that Shinji was the one to push her out of the way. Leaning up against the wall, she looked down to see him and Kyouko. She released a heavy sigh of relief, then suddenly opened her eyes wide as she realized where one of the bespectacled boy's hands was; but he thought of hitting him never crossed her mind after knowing what he just did for her.

Shinji quickly moved his hand when he found it on Shiori's bottom. "Sorry...!"

As Kaname opened her eyes, she found herself lying on the floor with Sousuke lying on top of her with his left hand covering her face. The pressure of the soldier's face resting on her chest stunned her and the momentary thought of throttling him vanished as the events replayed in her mind. Kaname was mesmerized as she watched the glass shards fall from his back as Sousuke moved his hands and lifted himself off of her.

Still concern for her safety, Sousuke quickly asked, "Kaname! Are you hurt or injured?!?"

"I-I'm… I'm fine Sousuke." A reassuring smile spread across her face to convey this to him. _Once again… he's here when I need him..._ Bothered by the tiny dagger like glass pieces that had blanketed him, Kaname anxiety inquired, "Are you alright?

"I'm okay, it's nothing major."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

Kaname watched the remaining fragments fall from Sousuke's uniform jacket as he stood up. Reaching up for the hand offered by him, she noticed the wrapping around his right hand. "What happened to your hand?" _Did he cut himself earlier during class?_

"It's just a superficial cut. Nothing to worry about." He assured her with a faint smile, "Can you stand?"

"Yeah." Kaname grasped the hand he had offered her. She found it to be warm, firm and reassuring as Sousuke helped the girl to her feet. She searched around to see where her friends were, at the same time Shinji, Kyouko and Shiori stood up on the other side of their work station. Maya had just broken away from her embrace with Ono-D. Due to Sousuke's and the others quick thinking, none of the girls were injured.

Suddenly, the chemistry teacher rushed to check out the damage. "Girls, I expect this kind of behavior from Mr. Sagara, but not you. You all should be ashamed of your carelessness. I thought more than anyone, you girls would be more careful than this. You were warned about what could happen if you were not paying attention to your lab experiments." Displeased, the teacher vented his frustration toward the girls. Of all the groups, this was the one he trusted wouldn't have any problems.

The smiles on the girls face fell away to a sullen look. They all knew they might have been chatting around too much. Gazing down at the mess from the explosion, their heads all quickly snapped toward a certain boy when he started speaking.

With fearsome eyes, Sousuke faced his teacher. "Sir, I would not be one so quick to judge their actions as carelessness. Accidents do happen from time to time. I _fully believe_ that the ladies in this group wouldn't do such things as to be absentminded." His voice was clam, steady, and with a hint of sharpness. Sousuke wasn't one to let his friends get into trouble or let them be talked down to for something he didn't believe was their fault.

Kaname and Kyouko both said at the same time, "Sousuke.........?" None of girls could believe he was drawing the teacher's attention by standing up and taking the heat away from them. Then again, this was Sousuke Sagara. The other students in the class all stopped what they were doing when they all heard Sagara speak to the teacher. No one had ever seen anything like this before.

Taken back by Sagara's statement, the teacher looked with disbelief at him. He knew the boy that spoke to him was honorable and never denied his own actions, good or bad. Would he cover for these girls that he was friends with and was close to Chidori? He asked, "Well then Mr. Sagara, tell me what it is you might have thought to cause such a disturbance?"

"I do not know, Sir." Sousuke stared down the teacher as he continued. "I would logically guess that it was equipment failure before assuming it was carelessness." He was returning some of his own fire to the teacher.

The other students in the class were shocked that Sagara was talking back at a teacher.

"If I remember correctly Sir, isn't the equipment that is used daily supposed to be checked after each class to find the faulty equipment and replace them immediately?" Sousuke had brought out the big guns now.

The teacher knew the boy was correct and he really didn't want a battle of words with him either. If he dropped the issue now, the teacher would save face. He remembered hearing that another teacher scolded Ms. Chidori one time. That teacher found a large knife whipped centimeters passed his head and embedded deeply in the black board.

"Y-yes Mr. Sagara, you are correct." the teacher sighed. "Girls clean this mess up and since these young men had made such an effort to come to your aid. I suggest you work with them to finish your lab experiments." He had said this in a calm voice, trying to hide his trepidation.

They all breathed a sigh of relief; the girls wouldn't be getting a failing grade.

As the teacher told the rest of the class to return to their work stations, Kaname fondly gazed over as the Sergeant walked back to his area. That's when she noticed the blood dripping from his left hand and the trail it had left. Three damp spots appeared on the back of his uniform jacket. Looking at her own hand, it had bloody smudges on it from where he used his right hand to help her up. "Sousuke!?!" She called out in a panic.

Kaname started walking over to him as Sousuke turned to answer her. "Yes?"

Ono-D and Shinji both caught sight of their friend's back. "Man, your bleeding." Onodera said to his clueless friend. Some of their other classmates saw the blood that dripped from him. One girl almost fainted at the sight of the blood.

Lifting up his left arm, she saw the blood soaked area on his jacket's sleeve. "I thought you said you were OK?" the blue haired girl asked with concern.

"Chidori, it's simply not a problem. I'll be fine." Sousuke relayed her.

She turned him around to look at his back. "Wrong, Big problem, you idiot!" she snapped at him still concerned. "I don't need you bleeding to death on me." When she saw the damp spots on his jacket growing, "What am I going to do with you?"

Sousuke knew she was right and also knew better than to disagree with her at times like this. Kaname had mended his wounds before and wouldn't stop because of earlier in the day either. He just simply nodded his head.

Looking over towards the teacher, "I'm taking Sousuke to the nurse's office."

Before the teacher could answer, Kaname had already led the boy out of class.

After seeing this, Shiori peered over to Kyouko. "I hope Sagara can get some rest on their trip, if he lives long enough to make it."

Kyouko replied with a sigh "He'll be alright. He's survived her this long and hasn't died yet. Besides, Sousuke is in good hands. Kaname will take care of him."

xxxxx

A/N: Well I hope you enjoy this chapter and I look forward to see what reviews I'll get from it. So R&R and I look forward to getting chapter 5 up soon.

Later GunsOFun

Oh, one more thing. I wonder how many people noticed that Shouji Gatou made an appearance in this chapter. Leave a review if you honestly did!


	5. The Touch of an Angel

A/N: Well, I know it's been 4 months since the last time I've posted and as anyone know, life and responsibilities just seem to get in the way of working on our beloved stories. First I'd like to thank everyone for all of those very supportive reviews for chapter 4, it made rewriting and re-editing chapter 5 so much easier and worth those long nights that I should have been sleeping. I'd also like to give a warm thanks to Glockbabe and pup for working with me on this chapter, their help made this even better than it had at first.

Now that this chapter is finished and posted, I'll begin working on chapter 6 with the hope that it shouldn't take more than two months to get it worthy of your reading and posted.

Again, thanks to Crystal Okamino, dusk, Anastra, J Luc Pitard, justluvsousuke, anz91, rose, LowBatteryLife, Tsukiakaga, The Lonewolf2, Kaiyt, Xvera Siramad, NegativeBackflow, raziella, for the wonderful and encouraging reviews.

You wanted more, you demanded more, it's my pleasure to bring you're the next chapter of my story; Full Metal Panic! Road Trip.

A/N: I do not own Full Metal Panic, nor do I own the copyrights to any vehicles and/or equipment mentioned in this story. I only own the plot… and that's still up for debate.

**Full Metal Panic! Road Trip**

_Chapter: 5 _

_The Touch of an Angel_

**November 2, 15:33 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan**

**Maison K, 4****th**** floor**

**T-minus 17 hours 27 minutes**

Sousuke thought he knew what Kaname had meant when she told him, 'I'll take you home so you can shower and get fixed up.' The Sergeant thought her statement meant he would go to his own place and clean up, and then take care of his cuts and injuries by himself. Obviously that wasn't the case because, at that point, he found himself being dragged up the stairs of her apartment building to the fourth floor by the blue haired girl. She seemed very determined to get him to her apartment because she hadn't let go of his hand since they got off the train.

Sousuke tried to express what he thought she had meant, "ahh… Kaname, my apartment is over there."

Glancing back over her shoulder, Kaname's eyes showed a hint of concern as she answered, "Yes, I'm already aware of this. Now come along please." There wasn't any anger nor fear in her voice. The girl didn't let go of his wrist as they made it to the fourth floor.

Maybe it was the fact that the school's nurse's office didn't have everything Kaname wanted or needed to mend his cuts and wounds. She did say something to the point of, _'I can't believe this is all they have.'_ as she was looking around. Kaname did what she could do there, like remove a few glass shards from his body with her fingers while continuing to mutter in irritation, _'My medicine cabinet at home is better stocked than what they have got here.'_ She did eventually find some medical tape, but there wasn't any tweezers, ointment, or large bandages in the cabinets; the tape alone wouldn't do the job for long. _'You'd think this place would be stocked like a hospital's trauma ward; knowing you're a student here.'_

Or maybe she was acting this way, he thought, because of the few drops of blood that fell from his left arm while they rode the train home. Perhaps it was the smudges of blood he left behind as they made their way home. He tried not to use his right hand, but being right hand-dominant, it was a little hard for him. She seemed discouraged with the smudges he had left on the train. The train had been crowded for some reason and they couldn't get a seat like normal. Sousuke had placed her in a corner by the doors, and kept his arms on either side of her. He didn't want anyone pushing into her. One bastard had tried to goose her on the train, but he quickly learned the error of his ways for trying by having two of his middle fingers snapped back to his wrist. Sousuke hissed a grave reminder, 'Try that again, and your hand will be the least amount of pain you'll feel, shithead.'

He stopped contemplating when he felt a twinge in his wrist; they had almost reached her front door. "Umm… Kaname? Could you stop pulling so hard? That hurts." he pleaded.

"Don't be such a baby Sousuke. You've been in a deadly fight today, crushed a glass vial in your bare hand, and you got glass blown into you from that beaker, which you didn't even realize till we told you. But me holding your wrist hurts? You're such an idiot, Sousuke." Concern still tinted her voice as she unlocked her front door. After walking into her apartment, she led him to the table in the living room and simply said, "Strip."

"…?" Sousuke hesitated for a minute in utter confusion. _Does she want me to just remove my jacket or completely strip down?_

"Take your jacket off, so I can start cleaning your wounds." she ordered as she headed toward her medicine cabinet. _Why does he have to make every little thing so difficult...?_

He removed his jacket, and laid it across the back of a chair at the table. He was about to sit down when he heard.

"Gezz… Sousuke. I meant your shirt too!" she yelled exasperated from the bathroom. _He can be so dense at times._

The Sergeant took his blood stained dress shirt and t-shirt off and tossed it on top of his jacket. Then he sat in the chair sideways with his left arm resting on the corner edge of the table, facing the opening toward her kitchen.

It didn't take Kaname long to get the things she needed. With towels, tweezers, hydrogen peroxide, a bowl, and some scissors in hand, she came out from her vanity area into the living room. She put the items down on the table, and then gently lifted his left arm to place one of the towels under it. The girl grabbed a chair from the other side of the table and placed it behind him, just to his left. Before sitting down, Kaname noticed the Glock in the back of his slacks. After carefully pulling it out, Kaname placed the gun on the table within Sousuke's reach, followed by four magazines; two of which were loaded with rubber bullets while the other two were loaded with 124 grain jacketed hollow points. Once she sat down in the chair, Kaname cut the medical tape and gauze off before pulling it carefully from his body and his arm.

Kaname put the scissors down, and tossed the used bandages into a pile on the table. After she grabbed a towel and wiped the blood away from his cuts, the blue haired girl started looking over Sousuke's back. It's not like Kaname hadn't seen him without a shirt on before, she had just never looked that closely before. For a while now, the girl had known her protector was in very good physical shape. His shoulders were well defined and strong looking, not like some obsessed body builder, but lean and cut, with enough definition of his muscles to hint at his true strength. Kaname looked over his body with joyful eyes while she ran her fingers down along his arm to feel the firmness of his muscles. _Damn, I knew he was fit, but he must work out a lot to keep his body like this. He barely has any fat on him. _

Once the blue haired goddess finished wiping the blood from him, she reached for the tweezers and the bowl. "This may hurt." she said as she started removing the glass shards from his body.

Sousuke nodded understandingly without saying a word. His steel colored eyes glazed over as he disconnected himself from any pain or discomfort that was sure to come.

While she was making sure all the glass shards were out, she noticed the massive amount of scars of various ages on his back and upper body. _Wow! He has more scars than James Bond would have from all his movies combined!_ Kaname knew some of them he had gotten while protecting her, like a few smaller ones were from his overzealous antics that Sousuke had done since coming into her life.

The other scars, she didn't know anything about. All she knew was that each one of these scars had a story that came with them. For someone his age to have this many scars, was a sharp reminder of his rough life before coming to Jindai. His life was just one mission leading into another mission. The girl had known he had grown up going from one war zone to another. All that did was to remind her that he wasn't a normal teenage boy, but he was trying to be one while still doing his duty for Mithril. She was positive Mithril had a good hospital on Merida Island and she knew the Tuatha De Danaan had Dr Goldberg and many skilled personnel in its sick bay. Kaname couldn't understand why there were times he came home still needing to be mended.

After dropping another piece of glass into the bowl with the other fragmented shards, she asked in a low voice, "Why do you come back from missions sometimes still wounded or cut up?"

What he wanted to say was, _Because I can't stand being away from you any longer than I have to, _but that didn't come out of his mouth. However, after letting out a long sigh, he did answer, "It's because I don't trust Wraith at all, he's nothing but an observer. And with recent events, I trust him even less than before." This came out with some anger and a hint of regret in his words before adding in mutter, "And I worry about you…" Sousuke hated having to leaving her alone, but he had to do what was needed.

Kaname flinched at the harshness of his words, but a smile formed on her lips as his words sunk in to her mind. But the girl still had questions she wanted him to answer, "Then why leave me at all? Why don't you just stay here all the time?" she wanted to know why he did all those missions just to rush back to her.

He took a deep breath then let it out in a long sigh as his eyes narrowed to focus on his answer. "Kaname… I can't do that. I can't stand by and passively wait for the next attack to come. I would rather actively take the fight to the people trying to kidnap you. I don't want you or anyone from school to be hurt or killed because of them. That is the reason I will continue going out on my missions."

"So you choose to do that, just to keep me and the people that are important to me safe?" Kaname asked the soldier in front of her.

Sousuke ran his right hand through his unruly dark brown hair, "Yes, because you're important."

"To Mithril?" she asked while her smile faded. _Maybe it was just his sense of duty that spurred him on and nothing more_.

"No, Kaname…" Sousuke said as his head tipped down slightly. "Because you're important to me..." he added in a stern voice.

Hearing his words warmed her heart. She wasn't some job. That realization brought the smile back to her angelic face. "That's why you came back with me from Hong Kong instead of returning to the sub?"

"Something like that…" the boy muttered.

Her smile grew brighter with that confirmation while she dropped a few more shards of glass into the bowl with the others.

Kaname moved over to his left arm finding a large shard of glass buried deeply in his skin. "Hold still, I have to dig this one out."

Sousuke nodded, not making any sound as she worked the tweezers into his arm.

It took some careful effort but she pulled a long glass shard out of his arm. It was covered in blood as she held it with the tweezers. Sousuke turned his head around to look over at the shard. Taking it from the tweezers, it was half the length of his finger. She wiped the hole in his arm with a towel as he examined the piece of glass in his fingers. Kaname poured the hydrogen peroxide on the wound his arm. It stung some, but he didn't react to the pain.

"Did that hurt any?" the caring sound of her voice kept him calm.

As he placed the shard in the bowl, Sousuke answered. "No… Like most emotions and feelings, pain can be turned off when you need to."

Even though she was happy that he wasn't badly injured, Kaname didn't like the reminder of how he dealt with pain. It might have been helpful in combat, but she didn't think it was wise or healthy for him to do that concerning his emotions.

When she was finished with his arm, she said, "Okay I'm done back here. Now turn around so I can have a look at your hand."

Sousuke did as he was told and turned around in his chair, resting his right arm on the table. Kaname pulled his hand into her lap, which caused the boy to slump forward unexpectedly. When he saw where his hand was, his eyes blinked rapidly, getting wider and wider while sweat formed on his brow.

As she worked to remove Shinji's poor bandaging job, "Keep your hand open will you. I can't take care of it if you keep closing you hand, Gezzzz..."

After letting out an apprehensive sigh, he did as he was told by the angel tending to his wounds. The Sergeant was uncomfortable with the closeness of his fingers to her womanly area. He soon relaxed by not thinking about her thighs he felt through the towel in her lap. However, Sousuke did try to keep his fingers from touching her skirt, knowing full well what lay on the other side.

Kaname removed a few small pieces of glass embedded in his palm. Then poured more peroxide on it to help clean the cuts. As the peroxide started to fizz, she ran her finger along his hand. _For a 17 year old, he has such strong hands, although they are as rough and calloused as someone twice his age._

After wiping his hand clean, she lifted it up to take a closer look to make sure she got all the glass from the vial out. Once she was content with her work, she turned his hand over. Her eyes blinked at the sight of the odd shaped scars on his knuckles and back of his fingers. These scars couldn't be more than a month old. _What the hell...? I don't remember seeing these before…_

"Sousuke…. Where did you get these scars on your hand from?" her face was full of concern when she curiously asked, but the girl's voice nearly sounded angry with him as she did.

His eyes suddenly averted her stern gaze as he tried to say non-chalantly, "I-I got them a while ago. It's nothing to worry about, Kaname."

When he finally glanced back at her, his eyes were met with a mix of concern and disbelief in her chocolate eyes. "Don't give me that crap." She said in a hushed tone tinted with annoyance for his blatant lie. Kaname had been through too much with him to settle for half truths about things like his health any longer. She wasn't going to deal with it any more. The girl wanted the whole truth and nothing less.

When she looked deep into his pewter color eyes, Kaname began to speak in a stern voice, "I want to know how you got these scars, Sergeant!"

"...?" Sousuke nearly jumped out of his chair as she scolded him unexpectedly.

He could feel her foot starting to tap on the floor. "Sousuke?" she knew there was something about these scars that he didn't want to tell her, and she was going to find out one way or another.

"I..." _Why does she have to be this way? It's not that big of a deal._

It was very clear to her that he was hesitating, "Sousuke Sagara. I want to know the truth." Her eyes grew narrow; there were only a few things he hesitated about. Since she wasn't showing too much skin, so that wasn't it, and she wasn't in his face; _next_! It had to be something concerning her when he got these scars.

"It's no…" she didn't let him finish.

"Sousuke," Kaname said as she let go of her anger. "I told you I only trust you to protect me. So I'd like to think you trust me also." she said that with all of her heart. Her eyes were full of warmth. She was starting to learn that being angry with him didn't loosen his tongue all the time.

"I don't wan…" he wasn't sure what she was thinking at this point.

"I'm not going to hit you. I just want to know how you got these." her voice and eyes were pleading with him.

Sousuke dropped his head, he knew he didn't stand a chance against her. After sighing, he answered, "The night you cut my hair, I was feeling very pleasant. When I got home, I checked my email... That's when I saw it... The email telling me that I was recalled... That contact with you was forbidden... I was so furious... I couldn't breathe... I-I was enraged when I... punched the screen of my laptop." It was hard for him to say this, he never wanted Kaname to see or know about his temper, even though it did slip out from time to time.

She had become a radiant beacon of light in his dark and gloomy world. That girl was the symbol of a better life for him, a better way to live. He hated the idea of his two worlds crashing together. The one with her in school at Jindai and his life full of fighting and war. Sousuke wanted to keep them separate and the few times they came together, it tore him apart inside. It was one of the reasons he fought so damn hard to keep her safe.

Kaname saw that it was hard for him to say. The sullen look on his face, the stammering in his speech, and the unconscious war in his eyes proved it to her. She knew he internalized too much and he kept what really haunted him buried deep down inside.

She peered up at him with an encouraging and reassuring smile, "It's okay, Sousuke. I'm glad you finally told me how you got these scars on your hand."

What happened next completely bewildered him as she took his hand and brought it to her lips, giving each of those scars on his hand a soft sweet kiss, "That will help them heal better." she did honestly care for him and everything he stood for. It would take some time, but she knew she wanted to help heal all of his wounds, physical and emotionally.

Sousuke didn't know what to make of this. The touch of her soft lips on his knuckles sent shock waves throughout his being. The feelings that welled up inside of him were very confusing, but calming at the same time. In the end, he was glad he had her in his life.

With a bright smile on her angelic face, Kaname suddenly said, "Okay, time to shower." As she leaned back in her chair while still holding his hand.

"…?" Sousuke almost fell out of his chair. The boy could only blink his eyes rapidly again as her words penetrated his mind.

As she stood up, leading him by his hand. She said, "Come on, Sergeant. Let's go get you into the shower." She smiled as she led him to the vanity area just outside of her bathroom, which of course he followed like a puppy.

When they reached the same place where she had cut his hair all those nights ago, the girl released his hand before searching through the linen closet. Once Kaname had found what she had been looking for, she pulled a white folded towel and a dark gray pair of draw string sweatpants from the shelves and handed them to the shirtless boy standing behind her. She quickly turned on her heels and she pushed him into the bathroom.

Inside Kaname's bathroom, Sousuke stood there holding the towel and sweat pants with a blank expression on his face. At that point, he still wasn't sure of everything she had in mind for him. While Kaname stood in the doorway to her bathroom, she told him, "When you're done with your shower, come back to the table so I can bandage you up." The blue haired girl then made her exit out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaving him alone in the bathroom.

The sound of the door closing caused him to relax and let out a sigh, somewhat relieved he had the wrong idea at first. As much as his body wanted it, there were some things he wasn't ready for. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he put the items in his hands down on the clothes hamper and started to empty the pockets of his slacks. Most boys would have a wallet and some loose change, maybe even a few waded up bills. But, then again, Sousuke wasn't a normal boy by any means. Besides his wallet, everything else he removed was some form of a weapon. There were grenades, knives of various shapes and sizes, blocks of plastic explosives, small landmines, detonators, and a long piece of piano wire. All the things a young merc would need for a day or night out on the town.

Once he was completely undressed, Sousuke brought the water temperature up to a comfortable level and then climbed into the shower. After rinsing his hair and letting the warm water cascade down his body, washing the dirt and blood of the day's events away, the Sergeant began to look around only to have it dawn on him, this wasn't his shower or one of the showers on the De Danaan. This was Kaname's shower and those were her shower items. He had never seen nor used a female's shower before. The purple loofah sponge hanging in there was something he had never used before. With an unsettling feeling, he knew what he must do. _I can do this. I'm a soldier, I'm a specialist... I'm in __so much__ trouble..._

A little while later, as he worked her floral scented shampoo into his wet hair, Sousuke heard the bathroom door crack open. His body froze still as he raised an eye brow toward the sound. All the time his mind rapidly processed every possibility; was Kaname okay, had terrorists broken in and kidnapped her, and were they about to attack him while in an indefensible position without most his of weapons within reach? Sousuke quickly cursed himself for letting his guard down. It wasn't until he heard Kaname's voice a second later from the other side of opaque glass door, he realized that once more he had began to over react to a simple situation.

Meanwhile at the partially open bathroom door, Kaname asked "You almost done in there?" The blue haired girl was waiting for a reply when she opened the door slightly more and caught a glimpse of the soldier's naked form. Kaname's eyes widened considerably as her cheeks flushed red and grew warmer. She could see his masculine silhouette through the shower door; the girl honestly wasn't trying to peek but it didn't hurt to steal a glance or two. She swallowed as her eyes outlined the form of his body. _Daaammmnnnnnnnn…!...!...!_

"I'll be out in a few minutes." is all he said. Totally unaware of the hungry eyes looking over his form.

Kaname snapped off nervously, "OKAY!" completely forgetting the reason she had even gone in to check on Sousuke. As she quickly closed the bathroom door, the girl caught a glance of the boy's weapons on the back of her toilet. The large Strider D9-SS combat knife stood out in sharp contrast to the rest of her bathroom. She rolled her eyes as she closed the door. _Where does he keep all of that stuff?_

After a while, Sousuke emerged from the bathroom wearing his boxers and the dark gray sweat pants that Kaname had given him. He had an uncomfortable presence about him, as if he was uncertain about something. What had this soldier so perplexed were the things he saw in Kaname's bathroom. Some of those things he could figure out. Others, he didn't have a clue about, and wasn't about to ask her either.

Moving out into the living room, he saw Kaname sitting on her couch with her long athletic legs folded under her as she leaned on the arm of couch. She had on a pair of white shorts and a light pink loose sweater with a wide scooped neckline that barely rested on the edge of her shoulders. When Kaname noticed him standing there, she glanced up and asked, "How was your shower, Sousuke?"

"It's was... hmmmmm... fine..." he answered nervously.

She wondered about the look on his face, he was kind of pale and seemed nervous. When she got up and stepped toward him, he took a step back. She looked at him confused and then her nose told her what was bothering the young soldier. Kaname could smell her own shower gel on him. She tried not to laugh at him, but gave him an awkward grin instead. "I guess we should have you bring your own shower items over and keep them in the bathroom from now on."

"I see..." he muttered timidly, Sousuke wasn't sure what she was hinting at. _Does that mean she will have me using her shower in the future?_

After taking him by the hand, she teasingly said to him, "Come on gloomy butt. Back to your chair, I'm not done with you yet." Her smile was brimming over her face as she led him back to his chair.

As he took a seat again, his eyes saw that there were more things on the table. Larger bandages, wide medical tape, some band aids, and Neosporin ointment, joined what had been there before.

She took her seat and started mending his wounds. Kaname started off with the hydrogen peroxide, making sure none of these cuts and wounds were infected. Once she was content with how clean they were. She started applying the ointment.

The coldness of the Neosporin made Sousuke sit up straight.

"Sorry, but you need this. It will keep these from scaring. You've got enough scars already, Sousuke." She told him as she rubbed the ointment into the cuts on his back.

Sousuke relaxed a bit as she worked on his back, staring off at his battered uniform jacket and his blood stained white t-shirt.

She wiped the ointment off her fingers on a clean edge of the towel that he had rested his left arm on. When the girl started applying the bandages on his back, she heard him start to speak.

"Kaname?"

"Yes, Sousuke?" raising an eye brow at his question.

It was difficult for him to put his words together, but Sousuke tried the best he could. "I'm uncertain about something. I would like your honest answer."

"Okay, what do you want to know?" she was wondering what was on this Sergeant's mind. It's not like he asked many random questions out of the blue.

It took a few minutes before he asked his first question. It was hard for him to think straight, with her warm hand touching his back. It was a very relaxing sensation. The words finally come out, "Why do you always mend my wounds? It's not your responsibility to keep me healthy."

After stopping for a second to search for her words, "Sousuke Sagara, I do it because... I know you would do anything for me." she smiled and rested her head against his back between his shoulders. The warmth of her forehead tingled from the contact of his cool freshly clean skin. The girl let out a content sigh before continuing. "I know you put me and my safety before anything in your life. And if you're going to protect me, I need to make sure you're healthy and in one piece so you can always do your best."

Hearing this, he started to understand their relationship and their roles a little more. He would protect her and when they were safe, she would fix him up and take care of him. He was fine with these roles, although he did secretly wish for more between them. His heart had begun lately to scream out emotions he barely understood. After today's events, he could only guess he loved her, but he still wasn't sure what it meant to be in love.

Kaname then added, "Also, you have a bad habit of over doing things at times."

"Over doing things at times?" he asked as he turned his head to his left side.

She leaned back giggled, "Yeah, you did kick that yakuza guy one too many times in the groin." She thought back to that day when she had first seen Sousuke's version of Bonta-Kun, she didn't know what to think. How many times do you get to see a theme park mascot wielding a twelve gauge shotgun? It gave her a pretty good idea of who it really was in that suit watching out for her.

"I see..."

When Kaname thought about it more, "It's not the only time you've gotten a little overzealous protecting me."

"Hmmm...?" was he overzealous? In his own mind, he was doing what was needed. If they happen to die, it just meant he wouldn't have to worry about them later.

"Sousuke, I've seen how you have used the Arbalest in fights before and I saw that battle in Hong Kong." She couldn't believe how much that little ass kicking she had given him woke him up. It was unreal seeing him take out five of those enemy ASes so quickly with just his white AS. She had heard some of the details from Weber about the difference between doing his missions and the missions that affected her. Melissa and Kurz had also noticed the difference. "Not that I'm complaining, but why do you fight so hard when the missions affect me?"

She got back to work on his back while he formed his answer. When he finally answered, she froze in her chair.

"I don't want you to end up like her..." he thought about that night several months ago in the Siberian tundra.

"Who, Sousuke?" she didn't know about any other girls he had rescued.

Lowering his head and letting out a long sigh, "Before I was assigned to protect you. I was on a mission with Kurz and Melissa in Siberia. We were ordered to aid in recovering a Mithril Intel agent that was spying inside a KGB research facility." He took deep a breath and held it before completely forcing it from his lungs and then continued, "For some reason, agent Shade took a girl out of the lab before we were in place. It took us a while to regroup so we could recover them both."

His mind replayed the events of that night over and over again before continuing. "I was the closest one to their location after we heard that the vehicle they were traveling in was destroyed. By the time I got there… the agent was already dead and there was a Russian attack helicopter, a Hind-D, was firing on the girl. I took it out as quick as I could with an Anti-tank Dagger."

Kaname could see the sullen expression that covered the Sergeant's face as she peered over his shoulder. The way he spoke implied to her that there was an emotional detachment to the mission.

"When I recovered her, she appeared almost lifeless. If it wasn't for her shallow breathing before she spoke, I would have guessed she was dead already." He thought about how that girl was wearing a similar outfit as Kaname was when he rescued her in Khanka.

Seeing how much he was bothered when Sousuke made his last statement, Kaname rested her head against his back again while placing her hands on his shoulders. Giving him a gentle reassuring squeeze with her hands, to let him know that was 'okay', she then asked, "What happened to her after you rescued her?"

Resting his head back on hers', he felt the softness of her dark ink blackish mane, "Once we brought her back to the De Danaan, Mithril Intel took her and I've never seen her since. It was very soon after that I was assigned to guard you, Kaname."

She wanted to ask him something that weighed heavily on her mind. "Was this girl… a Whispered?"

Taking another deep breath, "At first… I didn't know. We were not told about any captives being held at the research facility. I didn't even know anything about the 'Whispered' before I met you and I still don't fully understand what a 'Whispered' is. I remember that she wore the same type of hospital gown that you had on when I found you in that mobile lab." Pausing to gather his thoughts, "I would take a logical guess and say, yes. She was a 'Whispered' by the way things happened that night."

Kaname squeezed his shoulder at this realization. She had always feared being kidnapped. What happened to her after she was taken off the plane during the hijacking wasn't pleasant in any way shape or form. And after hearing the way this girl was acting when she was rescued, did nothing but confirm her worst nightmare. The slightest thought of ending up like that sent chills down her spine, as if someone poured ice water down her back.

The one thing that kept her from being overwhelmed by this fear was the person that was in front of her, the one person that always stood in front of her when she was in danger. Kaname's living, breathing reason she had been only captured once, which wasn't for very long. The soldier that she was resting her head against and held on to would make sure of that. He would do anything and give anything to keep her safe, even if it meant his own life. That event was something Kaname hoped would never have to come.

Hearing this story made it all so clear to her why Sousuke was such a terror and so disruptive in her life. As much as she didn't want to be captured, he never wanted her to end up like that other girl. While Kaname was trying to enjoy being a 'normal' teenage girl, Sousuke was doing whatever it took to maintain that life for her. _I think I finally understand, Sousuke. I think I finally understand you._

Loosening her grip on his shoulders, "Sousuke, what was that girl's name?"

"If I remember correctly, I think it was Miller, Sarah Miller, but I'm not sure at this point." He said, remembering the name he overheard from the Intel guys that referred to her once they were back aboard the De Danaan.

_So there are three of us, Tessa, that girl Sarah, and me. I wonder if I'll ever meet her. It would be nice to know other Whispereds._ Then Kaname's thoughts drifted off to another person. _I know Tessa mentioned that she had a brother, but that __bastard__ had to be him! Leonard Testarossa, I __will never__ forgive you for stealing my first kiss. Damnit; that was supposed to be with Sousuke!_

Breaking away from those thoughts of the person that enraged her, Kaname calmed herself before finishing with Sousuke's back and wrapped his arm after she placed a large bandage on it. "Okay, turn around so I can do your hand."

Again, he complied with her request and assumed the position, this time he placed his hand so it hung off the edge of the table.

Kaname again pulled his hand closer, causing him to slump forward, nearly falling face first into her lap. Sousuke closed his hand quickly and his eyes widen, seeing how close his hand was to her chest.

"Keep your hand open. How many times do I have to tell you?" Kaname asked mildly irritated, she wasn't sure why he kept doing that.

As he opened his hand, his finger tips brushed against the softness of her pale pink sweater, relaying to him what his mind already knew. Sousuke's eyes peeked up toward the girl's face as she was rubbing ointment in his palm and found no negative reactions. Only her deep chocolate eyes focused intensely on the work she was doing. With a small sigh escaping his lips, he relaxed his hand more as his fingers rested against the plush fibers of her sweater.

"…?" it could have been a second or maybe a minute before his mind realized what his fingers were trying telling at him. As his eyes slowly began to widen, Sousuke was unable to think what was missing at that moment. Still at a loss, his eyes slowly shifted back and forth over gentle curves of flawless skin as he observed the girls' neck down to her shoulders. What he had noticed was her sweater's neckline had shifted to expose her bare right shoulder and was resting part way down her upper arm. A thick lump began to form in his throat as he realized what was absent from her. His mind suddenly blanked at the same time, making it very difficult to swallow. Sousuke then knew without a doubt that the only thing between his finger tips and Kaname's sternum was the loose sweater. _She isn't wearing a b-b-br-ra…_

While Kaname started to wrap the gauze around the palm of his hand, she glanced up and saw the sweat beads rapidly forming on his brow, the slightly nervous expression he was trying to suppress, and his eyes continually looking over her right shoulder. Confused at first for not knowing what brought the sudden change in his demeanor, she curiously asked him as she finished with the gauze, "Sousuke, are you alright?"

"…" the soldier showed no signs he had heard her question beside his eyes nervously adverting her astute gaze.

As she started to wrap the medical tape around his gauze covered hand, she wondered to herself. _What is his problem now? _As she leaned forward till their noses were centimeters apart, staring straight into his pewter eyes, annoyance crept into her voice as she asked him again, "Sousuke, what's wrong?"

"It-it's nothing, Chidori." was all he could stammer out as his eyes glanced further away from her, before looking back at her exposed shoulder for only a second and then staring down toward his feet.

Raising an eyebrow at his sudden, oddly nervous behavior, Kaname saw him glance back toward her right shoulder a few more times before catching on to what had the poor boy in front of her so bewildered. Playing on her womanly intuition, she seductively leaned her shoulder forward a little to let the sweater slip further down her arm and chest.

As she did that, Sousuke caught her movement out of the corner of his vision and brought his eyes up from the floor to her form again. After blinking his eyes twice and taking in a deep breath to make sure he wasn't dreaming, the soldier could barely believe what he was seeing. But right there in front of him, Kaname was leaning forward and the wide neckline of her sweater was revealing an overwhelming view of the top third of her right breast to him. As the boy's widened eyes focused on the exposed gentle curves of the girl's bosom before him, Sousuke felt his heart thumping away in his head; his ears and cheeks grew flushed and he completely forgot about the breath he was holding within his lungs.

At the same time, Kaname watched as the waves of confusion mixed with shock, nervousness, bewilderment and apprehension crash over him. Her eyes focused on his ridged form, stone like facial features, the deep redness in his cheeks and his unwavering trance like stare. With her suspicions clearly confirmed by Sousuke's reactions, the edges of her lips curled up into a prideful and beaming bright smile. Even though it didn't happen all too often, Kaname truly did enjoy those times when a simple gesture of hers like showing some skin would cause him to be completely captivated to the point of faltering from his normally stoic and stalwart self.

Though she wasn't finished yet, the girl suddenly pulled the tape tightly around his hand which broke his trance and drew her patient's attention toward her angelic face. Kaname peered deep into Sousuke's soft grey eyes as he blinked.

The soldier stared back blankly at the deep pools of her brown eyes. As much as he enjoyed these moments, they still caused him confusion and anxiety because he never truly knew whether his charge would assault him with her harisen or just let it pass.

Satisfied with the knowledge that the poor boy was at her complete and utter mercy, she gave him a playful wink before putting a tight finish on the medical tape. And with that, Kaname said "Okay… I'm done." and pushed his hand back toward him. This was followed by her scooting the chair back as the girl stood up and stretched by bringing her arms over her head and balancing herself on the balls of her feet. She let out a subtle groan of contentment as she flexed and then relaxed the muscles of her arms and legs.

As Kaname stood there, Sousuke gazed over her lithe form displayed before him, admiring those long alluringly smooth legs of hers as they disappeared into the little white shorts which rode firm on Kaname's divinely sculpted hips. Unconsciously he let out the breath he had been holding in, what might have been mistaken as a long low whistle at her sheer radiant beauty.

With a prideful smile that was closer to a smirk, the object of his gaze lowed herself back down flat on her bare feet as she turned toward the table and started to clean up.

It took him a few slow steady breaths to regain himself and his awareness of his surroundings. As much as the inner inexperienced teenage boy inside him thoroughly enjoyed the little intimate display Kaname had graced him with, the inner hardened soldier within Sousuke knew he had to keep his wits about him at all times, no matter what. With that, he took a deep breath in and released it through his nostrils as he brought his carefully bandaged wrapped hand up into his view and inspected Kaname's work. The soldier then clenched his hand into a fist, giving it a few squeezes. Pleased with the feel of the bandages, Sousuke picked up his Glock and pointed it out the sliding glass door in her living room, checking the sights on the gun a few times. More than satisfied with the results, the end of his mouth curled up.

"How did I do?" she wondered while she glanced over toward him in the chair brushing her azure locks back over her ear.

While moving his left shoulder around in a rotating motion, Sousuke responded, "Very good. None of the bandages interfere with any of my movements." The soldier paused for a moment before adding the question, "You ever thought about being a nurse?" He knew she was getting better at this already, sadly.

A little laugh escaped her lips from his comment, "I don't think I have the bed side manners for that or the patience." Standing up straight next to the table, Kaname mockingly glared down at him in jest, "Beside, keeping you in one piece is more than enough for me."

"Thank you, Kaname." He said and rewarded her with a hint of a smile.

She smiled at him, "You're welcome, soldier. Now give me a hand cleaning this mess up."

"Yes, ma'am." He answered and placed the Glock back down on the table. He then helped her to clean off the table.

Once the table was cleared, Sousuke headed for the kitchen with the used bandages and the other trash while Kaname headed for the bathroom with the dirty towels and other items. In the kitchen, he disposed of the bandages, wrappers and the glass shards into the trash can. Then placed the bowl into the sink and started washing it with as much attention to detail as he would do cleaning any of his numerous firearms.

When Kaname came in to the kitchen, she noticed him washing the bowl, then asked him as she opened the refrigerator, "What do you want to drink, tea or ice water?"

"Water will be fine." he replied while towel drying the bowl and then placed it back in the cabinet.

Once Kaname had filled both cups, she quickly turned around with them in her hands at the same time Sousuke did, they literally came face to face with each other.

"…Kana…me..." the Sergeant stared aimlessly down into the girl's deep chocolate eyes.

"Here yo…" the girl peered up to meet his steel grey gaze.

The meeting of their eyes seemed to last hours, if not forever. Not willing to move, neither of them wanted to be the first to break gaze between them. Sousuke started to sweat as Kaname's eyes grew larger with each passing second.

_God, she's so beautiful…_, was the only thought in his mind.

_Should I kiss him? Should I kiss him? Should I kiss him? Should I kiss him? Shit!_ This occupied her thoughts at the same time.

After a while, Kaname faltered first as she took a step backward. "H-here's your drink." she stammered while she tried to keep from blushing.

Taking the cup in his left hand, Sousuke leaned back against the counter and quickly took a drink.

The blue haired girl leaned back on the refrigerator. After taking a sip from her cup, she looked down at the cup in her hand. Mustering up her courage, she began to say, "Sousuke, I want you to know that if you ever need to talk." Letting out a sigh, she lifted her head up to see his face and continued, "You can talk to me." Focused on saying what had been bothering her for some time, Kaname stared deep in to his pewter grey eyes, "I know you keep a lot of things about your past buried inside you and I don't think it good for you to do that. Taking care of you does mean mentally and emotionally, just not physically. You know what I mean?"

Before she had finished, Sousuke turned his head and his attention toward the front door. "I think Miss Tokiwa is here." Just as he said that, there was a knocking at the front door.

"Uhh…?" the girl was confused by his sudden comment before the sounds of her front door being knocked on penetrated her ears. _How does he do that?_ Kaname then headed out of the kitchen toward the front door, believing that she had left Sousuke there.

But as she approached the door, she was passed by him sliding up along the right side wall with his Glock aimed at the door. Kaname shook her head at the spectacle before her, _Same old Sousuke, there's always a threat around every corner. Why me...?_

When he got to the door, the soldier pointed the gun at the door, about chest level. As he peered through the peephole, he spied Kyouko standing at the door with an overnight bag on her shoulder. The soldier quickly checked the area around Kyouko for anyone else before feeling content and moving away from the door. As he passed Kaname standing awe struck, he informed her, "It's Tokiwa."

Sousuke disappeared into the apartment as she opened the door, greeting her best friend. "Hello Kyouko."

"Hey Kaname." The pig tailed girl replied joyfully, Kyouko stood there in a tan sleeveless sweater over a white long sleeve blouse and her faded blue skirt came down to about mid-thigh. Kaname let her in and then closed the door behind them. As they headed to the living room, the bespectacled girl asked, "Kaname are you alone? I thought I heard someone else."

The blue haired girl, looking slightly unpleased, and said, "Yeah, Sousuke is still here."

Glancing up at her best friend with a mischievous smile, Kyouko said, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." The idea of her two friends doing something intimate when she knocked on the door had passed through her head.

As Kyouko made this comment, Kaname checked the table to find the gun and all four magazines missing. Hearing what her shorter friend had said, the taller girl snapped off, "No we were just talking, nothing else, Kyouko."

Just then Sousuke came out of the bathroom and entered the living room where the two girls stood.

Kaname looked back at him; her smile brightened only to fade a little when she saw that he was back in his clothes again.

Kyouko noticed this slight change in her friend's expression, "So, Sousuke… you feeling better now?" Being honestly concerned with how much he was bleeding at the time, she didn't get to see him after he was dragged out of chemistry class by Kaname.

Looking over at the short bespectacled girl, he said non-chalantly with a nod of his head, "Yes, Kaname is more than capable of taking care of me in my time of need."

The girl Sousuke talked about beamed a bright smile at his complement, which drew a glance from Kyouko. Then the thin-framed eyeglasses wearing girl implied in a devilish way, "Oh, so Kaname, when you said you two were 'just talking', I didn't know you meant pillow talk." It didn't matter if she was wrong. It was always fun to tease her best friend.

Perplexed, Sousuke didn't understand the meaning of Kyouko's comment.

"Kyouko!" Kaname shouted and stared threatening toward her teasing friend as the azure hair girl's face turned a deep shade of red, at which Kyouko only laughed at.

The Sergeant still didn't understand what was going on at that point, but all he knew was his 'fight or flee' sense had started going off in the back of his head and the later was screaming very loud. As Sousuke began to back away, he said, "Uhhh… I think it's time for me to leave now and… I'll see you tomorrow morning…" With that, Sousuke quickly moved toward the door.

"Wha…?" Kaname asked as she turned to where he was just standing and found that he was already gone as she heard the front door close. "Damnit Sousuke." _Why did he to do that?_

xxxxx

**18:44 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Chofu, Japan**

**Maison K, 4th floor, Kaname's Condo**

**T-minus 14 hours 16 minutes**

Kyouko was holding a dress she just got out of her best friend's closet. As she held it up and looked into the long mirror on the wall, she said, "Kana, you should take this one along also, you look so good in it." the dress was the same color blue as Kaname's hair. It was a strapless dress that would hug her body tightly and it came down just about to her knees. The slit up the right side would show only half of the blue haired girl's thigh.

Kaname turned around from looking over the clothes that were already on her bed. "I don't know if Sousuke will take me to a place nice enough to wear that to," since she really didn't know what they would be doing on this trip.

While glancing over at Kaname, "He might just surprise you. Sousuke has been doing a lot of that lately." Kyouko believed he was changing for the better and she wanted to make sure her friend was ready for anything.

"Fine Ky, I'll take the dress along." she seemed miffed. It had taken a lot out of her choosing which clothes and outfits to pack. If her friend had her way, Kaname would end up bringing half of her closet along. There was already a pile of clothes on the floor that just didn't look right for the trip.

After walking over to Kaname's bed, Kyouko laid the dress across the foot of the bed. The two perfume bottles that sat on the edge of her friend's desk caught her eye. Kyouko took a closer look at them for a second and then asked Kaname, "So which perfume are you going to take with you, Cherry Blossom or Mango Delight?"

Kaname glanced up from her pondering and looked over while saying, "Oh… I really don't know yet."

With them in her hands, Kyouko asked, "Well, which one does Sousuke like?"

Kaname frowned at this question, "I don't know. I haven't worn either of them before at all."

"Well there's only one thing to do." Kyouko said with elfish smile.

Kaname was now worried, "Ky..."

"Don't worry, Kana. The question now is, do you have the proper outfit?" She had a plan already forming in her head and she was sure it would cause their clueless classmate some serious problems.


	6. The Truth of Problems

A/N: I do not own Full Metal Panic, nor do I own the copyrights to any vehicles and/or equipment mentioned in this story. I only own the plot… and that's still up for debate.

A/N: Well, it's that time again and I'm finally adding the next chapter to my story. First I'd like to say; I know it has taken about an extra month to finish re-writing and editing this chapter, but I did have a lot of issues (the final two Full Metal Panic novels came out, the release of HALO: Reach, I've recently gave up smoking cigarettes and I've been busy with a lot with work) side track me over the past 3 ½ months since my last update. Lucky for all my fans, my editors have been riding my ass to keep my mind on task, plus they have threatening to burn my guitar collection and my Mustang every time I get off task. The last part I was just kidding around, they wouldn't burn them. Well, I won't hold you up any longer and I hope you all enjoy this chapter of Full Metal Panic: Road Trip. Don't forget to R'n R at the end, ENJOY!

**Full Metal Panic! Road Trip**

_Chapter: 6_

_The Inconvenient and Undeniable Truth of Problems_

**November 2, 19:37 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Chofu, Tokyo, Japan**

**Tiger Maison, 5****th**** Floor, unit 505**

**T-minus 13 hours 23 minutes**

It had already been a few hours since Sousuke returned to his apartment, better known as the safe house. Once inside the main room, he found a note from Melissa and Kurz which read, 'Gone out for the evening. Don't wait up for us. Everything is ready. Maps, your reservation confirmation numbers, and lists of local attractions are in the folder. We burned some road tunes for ya, since Japanese public radio still sucks. Have fun, and…' There had been something written by Weber, but it was marked out. Below it was, 'I packed your clothes for you. You better not unpack them either, unless you wanna join Kurz on my shit list. Mao'

Sousuke perused through the manila folder he found on the table in the center of the room, and found that everything was already in order. Also on top with the note was a pair CDs. One of the CDs was from Kurz, with songs from AC/DC, X Japan, Anthrax, ZZ Top, BB King, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Eric Clapton, Black Sabbath, Ted Nugent and other heavy guitar songs from the classic rock era through today's modern rock. After reading over the song titles, the Sergeant raised an eye brow at one of the Van Halen songs as he wondered, _Why would anyone sing about a cake? It's beyond me. _

Sousuke knew Weber well enough not to question his musical taste, since it mostly consisted of American blues, blues-rock, classic rock, hard rock and some heavy metal from over the past 40 years. Although he didn't understand what the songs were about, they were pleasant to listen to at times when they weren't hurting his ears. On the other hand, Mao's CD covered a wide range of music, everything from popular songs of the 80's, 90's and today, and heavy metal to techno. He figured Kaname would like most of the songs. The harder ones, the Sergeant was sure she would skip over.

He placed the folder and the CDs by his laptop, then inspected the luggage Mao had already packed for him. She had done a fine job and everything he would need was there. The two boxes of condoms in his bag, however, had the poor Sergeant dumbfounded. He was more than certain, that there would be plenty of service stations along the highways; no need to carry emergency water supplies with them.

_Unless...?_

With that thought, he threw the boxes back into his bag. Being prepared for _any_ situation is critical to victory. Though, the poor boy didn't understand the difference between ribbed and studded. Sousuke needed to be focused on the last of his checks and not thinking about that, he quickly changed into more comfortable clothes, a black t-shirt and olive drab BDU slacks and set down to make his final preparations.

Over the next couple of hours or so, he readied his equipment, sharpened his knives, selected the proper grenades and flashbangs he might need to use, and re-cleaned the firearms he planned to take along. On the table in the middle of the room, the finished weapons rested at the far end of the table towards the boy's left. At the far left sat his German sniper rifle, a HK PSG-1 with its scope, resting on its bi-pod. To the right of it, were his four shotguns. The Benelli M3 Super 90 pump action shotgun, the one he used on the beach that day when he was thinking about the wrong melons. Next came his Italian SPAS-12 auto-loading shotgun with folding stock, if it was good enough for the Terminator, well it was good enough for Sousuke. Although, he wished he had the combat shotgun on him when Mister Oonuki flipped out. The final two shotguns were both different versions of ultra-dependable Remington Model 870, a full sized older M870P with a walnut stock; which the soldier kept around his apartment when he wasn't interrogating high school girls with it, and his tried and true compact manganese phosphate finished 870 based Serbu Super Shorty; which he had used many times around school due to concealable size and door breaching ability. After the shotguns, came his American made Colt CAR-15 Commando Model 629 with 4 position that hadn't been used since the mission that returned Sousuke home in Afghanistan, it was still a fine assault rifle, but even in its' shortest form it wasn't very concealable. Resting next to the carbine, his Steyr TMP, like his 870 version Super Shorty, it was carried around in school due to its ease of concealability and cycle rating. Last but not least, three small handguns rested next to the TMP, a snub-nosed Smith & Wesson Model 640 cambered for .357 Magnum or .38 Special sat with his compact Glock 19 and its even smaller sibling, a Glock 26. Next to each of the guns sat their loaded magazines, speed loaders, and boxes with a wide array of ammunition types, one can never could be too careful these days.

On the other end of the table, currently working on the last of his firearms, Sousuke was inspecting the FN P-90's bolt carrier system. The submachine gun was the latest weapon system Mithril had issued. Its compact design, low recoil, 50 round translucent heavy plastic magazine mounted on top, and full size assault rifle stopping power, made the P-90 the best of both worlds. Both, Melissa and Kurz had used the polymer bodied firearm a few times before. Melissa loved it; the reason she started carrying one when she was out of her M-9. Kurz liked its size and ammo capacity, but thought its 200m effective ranger was limiting. Sousuke on the other hand, had only used it once before, during that little trip of his to Sicily.

After working the bolt clean, Sousuke started to re-assemble the weapon before him. While cleaning the P-90, he had made some improvements to it. A new Eotech 552 holographic sight was added on top with front and rear lens covers, for quicker aiming in low light; and it even worked with night vision goggles. Once he was finished, Sousuke checked out the sight. It wasn't bad for guessing on adjustments for the sight, but it still needed to be taken to the range for its final setting. As he looked around aiming his new sight, the Sergeant squeezed the new switch he added to the gun's grip. The smirk on Sousuke's face showed his thrill as the green dot appeared on the far wall from the new internal laser sight. It would come in handy, since the submachine gun was easily controlled when fired one handed.

Suddenly there was a knock on the front door, which turned the smirk the boy had to a frown as he slammed a fully loaded magazine into the P-90 and chambered the first round. He quickly and quietly moved from his chair and took up a position near the door, sliding up along side of the wall with a flack vest in his left hand. The Sergeant crept slowly toward the door, all the while aiming the polymer bodied personal defense weapon at chest level on the door and once there, he peered through the peep hole.

_It's Kaname… _That thought caused his eyes to widen as he quickly threw the flack vest back into the safe house; the boy franticly worked the locks on his door with his now free left hand. Then called out, "Chidori, are you alright?" as he swung the door open and tried not to slam it into to the girl.

Seeming a bit nervous, "Yes I'm fine, Sousuke." she said as the girl stood there holding a bag in her hands behind her back. Covering most of her body from the chilly night air, Kaname had a long coat on, which fell down to her knees making it look like that was all she wore.

Something was different about her and not in a bad way. He had known for some time now, this angel that stood at his door had immense inner beauty. But at this time, something about her made her ever more radiant. Sousuke studied her with his grey eyes, trying to find the difference. It didn't take him long to see the slight hint of eye liner around her large milk chocolate orbs or the faint shade of rouge glazing her lips, which made them very inviting and nearly irresistible to kiss. Her skin was as flawless as the most expensive pearl and the girl's blue mane was tied back into a long pony tail that fell down her back from the ever present red ribbon, revealing her silver ear rings. These were simple but elegant, a trail of small diamonds cascaded down from each of her lobes held together by fine silver cords.

_She's absolutely gorgeous... _The Sergeant's loss for words indicated his mind was starting to cause him problems. "...!"

"May I come in?" she asked sweetly but uncertain. _I don't know how Kyouko talked me in to this, _she inwardly groaned to herself.

After a few minutes, he founded his voice again, "YES... please… come in, Chidori."

With a warm smile gracing her angelic features, "Thank you, Sousuke."

Sousuke moved aside to let her enter and as she walked past him. A strange, yet familiar aroma tickled his nose. _Cherry blossoms...!_

A memory of a warm afternoon teased his mind. The sun had begun its decent as he had walked along the water path in the park with Kaname who was dressed like a maiden of eras past, the delicate floral scent of Sakura blossoms wafting from her hair. _She had looked so divine that day…_ His rapid heartbeat began to slow and he felt a comforting calm envelope him, warming him to his soul.

Meanwhile, the girl in question wondered to herself, _Does he always answer the door with a gun in his hand? _This question filled her mind when the sudden sound of the polymer frame gun falling on to the wood covered enter way beckoned her attention. _How long has it been since he last dropped the gun he was holding around me? _Kaname wondered again while she tried to hide her laughter, and slid the red sandals off her feet before walking deeper into his apartment.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Sousuke lowered himself down to retrieve the weapon, he couldn't understand this time why his eyes could not break away from this heavenly form walking into the main room of his apartment as her ponytail swayed with her hips. Not wanting to be far from her, he quickly followed her lead deeper into the safe house.

Kaname sighed heavily when she glanced at the table covered in weapons of all different types, _I should have known better..._ She wearily shook her head in defeat, but even this sight wouldn't stop her. Setting the bag she was holding on the counter top to her left, she sharply pivoted on her heels to face the boy in her presence and then started the purposely slow task of unbuttoning her coat. Eying him for any reactions, a joyful grin beamed her angelic face.

Unable to move from the threshold that opened to the main room, Sousuke watched her with a mixture of emotions that he wasn't on first name basis with.

As her coat fell from her shoulders, it revealed a tight soft pink cardigan sweater, with the buttons undone enough to show a little more cleavage than Kaname normally would have on any other day, though it was somewhat more of how Mao would wear it. At the edges of her neckline, hinted the white lace bra that pushed her ample bosom together while the lower few buttons were also undone, suggesting a game of peek-a-boo with her navel. The top of her black skirt was just covered by the light sweater, which wasn't any shorter then her other skirts. The silver buttons running down over her left thigh held the skirt tightly to her shapely hips. The last two buttons hung free, teasing Sousuke cruelly as they exposed this angel's athletic upper thigh. Although it was a bold move for Kaname, it was very tastefully done.

The Sergeant, who rarely showed any sign of emotions toward his enemy, could barely keep his composure at the sight of this angelic goddess as she removed her coat. Drinking it all in, his widened eyes cascaded down her form and back up to her lovely face. Sousuke's normally calm state jumped into overdrive. His mind and heart both accelerated, it took all he had to keep from hemorrhaging to death from his nose as the blood pressure would have surely knocked him over. The boy stood there like a statue, but since he was concentrating more on his facial expression, he failed to notice that his own little soldier was gaining rank at an instantaneous rate. By the time it achieved the rank of General, his pants were getting uncomfortably tight. Sousuke had to get things back under control. Well at least back down to a private.

Closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath, _Cold shower… very cold shower… ice cold shower… Gauron… Commander Mardukis, being shot out of a torpedo tube with 300kg of explosives… Kaname being angry… eating Kalinin's borscht..._ Once he had himself back in reasonable state of mind and being. He opened his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming of what stood before him.

Holding her coat in her arm, Kaname studied his reactions and enjoyed the sight of him having to honestly work to keep himself at bay. Any other boy would have jumped all over her by now, she was pretty sure that the thought had crossed the soldier's mind a few times already. This gave her confidence about what she was here to do. Her only question was how long Sousuke could hold out and she would be testing him to see his reactions. The thought of him doing something, normal or abnormal for him, like passionately taking her in his arms and placing his lips on hers might be an enjoyable bonus.

"Sousuke could you clean off the table some for us?" was asked in a bewitching tone.

Snapping to attention, "Y-yes, ma'am!"

He quickly moved to place the P-90 down on the radio table and then turned his attention toward removing the cleaning kits, sharpening stones, gun oil, and dirty towels from the end of the table.

Kaname laid her coat over the back of one of the chairs at the table as her eyes swept over the table and its contents. She knew her body guard had a lot of firearms, but it seemed to her like he was preparing for a war not for a trip. After he had cleared one side of the table off, leaving the firearms on the other side, the girl brought her bag over to the table and she started unloading its contents. Nikujaga, kare raisu, umeshu, some silver ware, plates, two glasses, and some candles were placed on to the table. It didn't take her long to serve the nikujaga onto plates, and set the rest up.

Watching her as he removed the last of the empty ammo boxes, the soldier thought to himself, _This is rare, normally Kaname would only bring food over when we had a fight or she feels she has done something wrong. But she has never dressed this... __nicely__... just to eat with me._

Bringing him out of his thoughts, his dinner guest asked, "Do you have a lighter?"

If anyone didn't know Sousuke better, they'd swear he was a smoker with how fast he pulled out his old worn Zippo.

After taking it from his hand, Kaname looked at the windproof lighter. Even though it couldn't be very old, the Zippo looked like it had a hard life, much like its owner. It still had the burn marks on it from when it set the signal fire back in North Korea seven months ago. She lit the candles she had placed around the room and then walked over to turn the lights off. With that, the room was bathed in the warm glow of the candles light.

Sousuke was not familiar with this practice. In the past, he had only used candles when a storm had knocked out the lights or when there was no electricity available. As odd as it was to him, it did have a peaceful effect on the safe house. The dancing candle's flames gave the room a comforting and relaxing feeling. _I wonder if this is what Weber meant by 'Candle lit dinner'? _The poor boy still didn't have a clue to its true meaning.

Kaname sat down at the table, facing the sliding glass doors that faced out upon her own apartment building. "I hope you're hungry."

"Honestly, I'm starving tonight." Her protector and beneficiary of her home made meal took the seat across from her. He looked over the meat and potatoes on the plate if front of him. "Did you make this dinner for us?"

Not wanting to let him know that he had guessed correctly, "No, Kyouko and I made this for ourselves. But we made too much and I thought I would bring over the leftovers." Kaname honestly didn't want to tip him off to the plan that her best friend had thought up.

Glancing over at the bottle that Kaname poured their drinks from. "What is umeshu?"

After taking a sip from her own glass, she answered, "It's a plum drink. It goes well with nikujaga and it helps bring out its flavors." Kaname failed to mention the low alcohol in the wine. Kyouko thought it would help loosen him up some.

Sousuke dug into the nikujaga like it had been his first real meal since coming back from Hong Kong. After taking several bites from the main dish and the kare raisu, he took a sip of the umeshu.

"So how is it?" she wasn't concerned whether he liked it or not. Her cooking was the best he had ever had in his life so far.

Once he swallowed, "It's very good." Sousuke glanced down at the plate in front of him and over at the dish of kare raisu.

"What is it?" she saw the perplexed look on his face.

Licking the inside of his mouth, Sousuke stated. "I've noticed something. I have tasted the food you've cooked for our classmates and the food you've made for just us. If I'm not mistaken, it seems to me that the food you cook for me tastes better than when you cook for our class." then he took another bite of spicy curry rice.

Leaning forward, she placed her left elbow on the table and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "You think so? Maybe I do put a little more effort into cooking for you." she gave him a full hearted smile for noticing the difference. Although, Kaname had forgotten about how much her sweater was undone.

Sousuke's eyes caught the view from her unbuttoned cardigan, it gave him almost as enjoyable of a view of her wonderful mounds as when she had cut his hair and left little to no question in his mind about how much of her bra was made of lace. The sight of the nearly sheer garment caused the food in his mouth to find the wrong pipe in the back of his throat. After coughing several times, he managed to properly swallow it the second time around, and then followed it immediately by the rest of his drink.

Kaname saw the soldier choking. _What could have caused that reaction? _Watching him down his umeshu, she looked down to see how much of a view he was getting. For a quick panic filled minute, she felt her cheeks fill with warmth as she thought about buttoning up her top. Then it finally set in, _if seeing this much of me had that much of a reaction on the poor soldier, then he has to be somewhat a normal teenage boy after all_. This made her self-esteem grow by leaps and bounds. Normally, in the past he had done things to make her question her own looks, but this evening's reactions would be something she would remember for a while.

It didn't take long for Sousuke to finish his meal along with eating most of the kare raisu. Kaname only ate half of her nikujaga and only a few bites of the curry rice. She was more interested in watching her soldier enjoy her cooking. That had been one of the simple pleasures she was able to enjoy with him, which no one could ever take away from her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she peered over to see how much of the umeshu they had drank. She herself only had a glass, while Sousuke had a bit more than her. As she looked at the bottle, her eye noticed his Glock 19 sitting there. _I wonder..._

"Sousuke?"

"Yes, Kaname?"

"With the things that happened while you were gone. I was wondering if you could show me how to use a gun?" This had been asked kind of sheepishly, she never had before needed or wanted to ever use a firearm. But things were now different, and it wouldn't hurt to know how to shoot. Plus it would give her an opportunity to see if Sousuke would take the chance to get really close to her physically.

The question asked by Kaname gave a strange feeling of uneasiness from inside the Sergeant's stomach. She already told him about how she was attacked by an assassin and how someone had interfered with those robots, which dealt with the assassin. This had yet to sit well with him once he heard about this on their flight back from Hong Kong. Deep inside of himself, he hated the fact this took place. If he had known about this before boarding Arbalest, the battle would have ended a lot sooner. This information did resolve his feelings about his orders to end guarding the girl that meant the world to him.

The idea of teaching Kaname how to shoot wasn't unreasonable. _What if a situation came up where I wasn't around to protect her? It's not like Wraith would do anything to protect her._ _But could Kaname take a life to protect her own life?_ Pondering these questions for a moment, Sousuke then spoke, "As I have said before, you have to put your life before anyone else when it comes to your safety." He wanted to make sure she truly understood what he was saying this time.

Meeting his steel grey gaze, "I understand Sousuke. I was thinking of how you use those rubber bullets around school. Everyone you've shot with them has been knocked completely out."

Leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed at his chest, "Kaname, those bullets will work against most people. But trained soldiers will only be stunned by them. That will not stop them from harming or kidnapping you."

"Yes, I really do understand that. If my life is in real danger, I won't think twice about using real bullets. I believe at this point I know the difference between gangs, yakuza, terrorists, and real soldiers." With everything that had happened over the past eight months, Kaname thought she had seen more than enough dangerous people than any teenage girl should ever have too.

He already knew how she got when the class rep had set her mind to something. Even though she had sound reasons, something inside the boy didn't feel right about this. Normally, Sousuke would have been all too eager to show Kaname how to use a firearm. The training he gave on using a taser already proved valuable to keeping her alive and this is the next logical step. But this is the girl that his feelings were growing stronger for every day and the idea of her being in a situation where she had to use a firearm to defend herself was unsettling to him. In the end, it would be better for her to know the proper way and never have to use this knowledge, than not to know and some terrible thing happen to her or get herself killed.

"Alright, I'll train you." The boy said reluctantly before continuing. "We'll start off with a Glock since you already have the basics down on how to use it."

The girl watched from her seat as the Sergeant stood up and took the Glock 19 firmly in his bandage wrapped hand; her eyes were trained on him as he released the magazine from the pistol and then swapped in an em vpty one. She was impressed how his body moved in one fluid motion, as if without any conscious thought. What truly surprised and amazed her was the sight of him catching the bullet in mid-air after he cycled the slide back to eject it from the chamber. This skilled display of hand-eye coordination and dexterity had been remarkable but it also had a sobering reminder of his dark past.

After replacing the 147gr 9mm hollow point bullet back into the loaded magazine and thumbing the slide closed, he joined his seductively dressed student on the other side of the table. As she stood up from her chair and took the gun in her hand, he caught sight of the trail of diamonds dangling from her ears gleaming in the light of the candles. They reminded him of fireflies dancing around her neck. A quick shake of his head brought his attention back to the issue at hand. "N-now I'll show you the proper way of loading a pistol."

With the Glock 19 in her right hand, she gave a simple, "Alright." Kaname glanced down at the polymer framed pistol and noticed how it seemed about two centimeters longer than the smaller Glock 26 and that it's handle was little longer also, making it easier for her to hold.

Once that was said, Sousuke started his instruction. The soldier explained to the girl 'The two schools of reloading a pistol' and their differences. He continued on telling her how the first way is taught to trainees in most armies and police agencies, which was used as training for safety and not for speed. He then told her about the method he used, which was used for speed, tactical reasons and survival. The Sergeant also added that most Special Operation Units - like Mithril – trained this way with semi automatic pistols, like the Glock.

As Kaname paid full attention to him while he informed her of the pistol's controls, she noticed that he was in full instructor mode. But instead of sounding like some old drill Sergeant barking at 'wet behind the ear' green recruits, Sousuke spoke to her with concern, care and assurance as he advised her on how to work the firearm.

Finished with his explanation, he indicated to the blue haired girl that it was time for her to put what she just learned into practice. With the empty gun in hand, Kaname followed the instructions in the order the Sergeant gave them. Gripping the rear of the slide between her left thumb and her finger, Kaname pulled it back and released the slide. She was surprised to see that the slide stayed back and didn't return back to it former position. "Is that supposed to happen?"

With a slight smirk on his face, he answered, "Yes, when an empty magazine is in it." Sousuke was pleased that she was as attentive during this as she had been in school. "The slide will lock back after the last round is fired from the gun. I want you now to release the magazine from the pistol."

Using her thumb, Kaname pressed the magazine release button just behind the lower part of the trigger guard. She brought her left hand up to catch the polymer coated magazine as it fell free. For the purpose of training, she was told to use the empty magazine as a 'fully loaded magazine'. With that, the girl held the Glock tightly in her hand as she forcefully pushed the magazine back into the gun, hearing it lock into place. Remembering the next step, she forcefully released the slide lock with her thumb. The slide suddenly slammed closed. _Chink!_ Kaname was very pleased with herself. This simple action would be helpful if she ever found herself in a bad situation.

"You did very well for your first time. I'm impressed." Sousuke stated, he knew about her dislike toward firearms, but she was handing this like a professional. Then again, she never cared for failing at anything.

"Thanks"

As Kaname took a few minutes to practice reloading the Glock, Sousuke took advantage of this opportunity and causally surveyed her. As hard as it was for him to keep his mind on the task at hand, his eyes kept wandering up and down her angelic figure many times. She always had been very appealing to him in whatever attire the girl picked out for the day or the occasion, whether it was her school uniform or any of her other outfits. So it almost seemed out of place to the soldier to see her dressed this attractively just to bring 'leftovers' to him. As oddly as it stood out in his mind, he couldn't put his finger on the reason, although he did have more important pending issues on his mind.

The more Sousuke watched her with his gun, the more two very conflicting groups of feelings stirred inside him. The first one seemed very unfamiliar to him. The sight of this divine angel looking absolutely ravishing standing there holding his gun was utterly alluring to him. The vision of these two things coming together, one of the most beautiful girls he knew and his tried and true sidearm, caused his palms to sweat, his heart rate to sky rocket, and his breath to become deep and harsh. The delightful knowledge of having this sight in close proximity to him was even more arousing for him.

In another part of his brain, this image before him was disturbing. These two symbols of his different worlds coming together, as enticing as it was, it also seemed wrong. His Glock, as much as it was used to protect her, was still a weapon, an item of war and killing. Kaname, as abusive, quick tempered, and head strong as she was, could still be caring and compassionate toward him. This blue mane goddess was his symbol for a normal live, one without war, death and destruction. A life where he could go to school with her, spend more time with her, understand his feeling for her more, and maybe even be with this girl for the rest of his life.

_This is no good. There should be an instruction manual for this also..._

Kaname glanced over at him, seeing him lost in thought again. "Are your okay?"

"I'm fine, it's not a problem." the boy abruptly said. Though his thoughts were disturbing, in the end her safety meant more to him. After clearing his throat, "Now it's time to learn the proper way of how to hold and aim a pistol. Point the gun towards the far wall." the young mercenary instructed her.

As she held the Glock in her hand with her arm out in front, Kaname saw the dot on the front sight post glow in a ghostly green. The rear sight glowed in the shape of a cup, placing the dot in the center of the cup meant she had the sights aligned. With the room softly lit by the candles, it made aiming easier for her with sights that glowed in even this low light. During this, Kaname kept her finger along the frame and off the trigger. She knew from being around her soldier enough to always treat any firearm like it was loaded at all times. "Like this?"

"Yes." As he moved closer to her right side and leaned his head next to hers.

Just then his nose caught the faint essence of a familiar fragrance that reminded him of a far off place from his past. It had been from a time before he joined Mithril, before going back to the Middle East and Lebanon. It was the place where he and the former Russian Spetsnaz commando, Kalinin, hunted down Gauron in Cambodia. This aroma had filled the market places of the towns and villages they visited. Although the sweet smell of mangoes never had any special meaning to him before, now it stirred his desires and loin. Sousuke would have to investigate further, like any good soldier should.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kaname saw that he was thinking about something other than the handgun in her hand. She had wondered if he had got a whiff of her other perfume, Mango Delight. "Sousuke?" she asked inquisitively.

"Yes!" he quickly chirped. Realizing she caught him with his mind wondering. Silently blasting himself, he couldn't afford to have his mind off somewhere else when he had Kaname there with him. Even though their relationship had changed from just protector and normal high school girl, he didn't know where they stood at this moment, _Were they just friends? Or something more?_ Regardless, it was clearer to him than ever before, he would protect her no matter what. Duty or not, no one needed to order him to guard this 'Angel' that continued to show him better reasons to live.

"You alright there, mister?" she asked.

Sighing, "Yeah, I'm fine. Really. Now see how you're holding the pistol?"

"Yes."

Placing his finger on the right side of the gun's polymer frame, he pushed it with little effort. "With the way you're holding it. It will be harder for you to control the recoil each time you fire it. That will translate to more time wasted to get the gun back on target."

Thinking about what Kaname was just told, she placed her left hand to support her shooting hand. "What about now?"

"That does help." pushing on the frame again. The pistol didn't move as much this time. "The best way to hold a gun is like this."

While almost leaning over her shoulder, Sousuke brought his right hand up along Kaname's. He started to move her left fingers as he explained what he was doing. "Moving your supporting hand's index finger around to the front of the trigger guard help minimize side to side movement and placing the remaining fingers on the area between the holding hand's fingers help control recoil. Resting your left thumb on top of your right thumb completes this."

As he was doing this, Kaname took a deep breath of her own. His touch was gentle, despite the calluses on his hand and fingers. His face was close enough to hers, that as he spoke to her she could feel his breath on the nape of her neck and her earring move slightly back and forth. This caused her head to spin in circles._ Is he going to do what I think he's going to do…?_

The image of herself leaning her head back a little as Sousuke moved closer. Her eyes closed before their lips touch. That wonderful feeling as his soft lips crushed into hers. The sensation that ran through her body as his arms took her into a warm embrace. Their tongues sliding into each other's mouths played in Kaname's mind. Anything beyond this didn't matter, like the rest of the world had all but stopped. It was finally at peace, or so it seemed.

"K- Kaname?"

"Yes?" enjoying her moment way too much.

He took a step back and cleared his throat once again. "Your phone is ringing."

"Wha...?" the girl's daydreaming eyes quickly changed to that of confusion. It took a few more rings from her phone to make her realize that she had been caught up in her own dream. _What was I thinking? Damn it, this is just perfect timing._

Sousuke gently took the Glock from her hand as she reached for the ringing cell phone in her skirt pocket and answered with an irritated, "Hello?"

One the other side of the phone, Kyouko asked overly joyful, "Hey Kana! How's it going over there?"

While trying to keep a frown from forming on her lips as her annoyance began to build, Kaname was less than pleased when she grumbled, "Everything is fine."

"Good. How did Sousuke like your outfit?"

Taking a deep breath to calm herself down. Kaname tried to remember how her best friend told her to speak in code if he was nearby. "I think he really enjoyed the dinner a lot."

"Great, I knew he would like what I picked out for you. Which perfume does he like?"

She sighed, "It's hard to say. He seemed to like the nikujaga and the kare raisu. I couldn't tell which one he liked more." After saying that, she turned around to see Sousuke wasn't in the apartment any more. It took her a bit of searching to see that the Sergeant was outside on the balcony. _Why did he did he go out there?_

"He did like perfumes, didn't he?"

The irritation she felt before faded into concern. "I believe so. He hasn't been acting his normal self tonight. Sousuke seems pretty distracted when he gets close to me."

Meanwhile outside, Sousuke leaned on the balcony wall with his arms rigid and his hands had a firm grip on it as if the boy was trying to dig his fingers into the concrete itself. The night time air was chilly; every breath he let out, hung in the air for a few seconds before fading away in the breeze. Standing there barefooted on the smooth concrete of the balcony, neither the brisk wind that blew around the apartment building nor the ice cold concrete beneath his feet did little to bother him at all as he began to contemplate the questions that weighed heavily on his mind at that moment. Starring off into the fall night sky, the soldier thought, _Why is this happening to me? I can't focus at all tonight! I know Chidori has this affect on me, but normally I can keep my actions under control. Is it her outfit? She always looks lovely, but tonight she is so gorgeous. I can't keep my eyes from looking at her. Hmm, I can't even keep my mind wondering. I want to… NO! We aren't that close… or are we?_

_Do I even deserve to be with someone like her? _

Dropping his shoulders and head, the Sergeant continued his mental obstacle course. Thinking back about his life before and during Mithril, all he had known was fighting, death, destruction and surviving day by day. Then by some strange turn of events, he was guarding this girl. What seemed like a normal mission had become so much more for him. This girl, Kaname Chidori, had slowly started to show him how to live in a 'normal' way. He thought about the first time she was in danger, when she was taken off the plane in the Khanka region. Something inside himself drove him to ignore his orders and rescue her. And all the other times she was kidnapped or in danger, it wasn't his orders that pushed him to save her. He did it just so Kaname would be safe, so he could be with her, there in Tokyo. Not even Mithril, nor that piece of shit Gauron; was going to keep him away from her. No one was.

Slamming his bandage wrapped fist into the concrete wall of the balcony, _That's right… I sure as hell don't remember selling my soul to Mithril and I'm not whatever that bastard thought I was. He's dead wrong, Kaname doesn't make me weak. If anything else, knowing she's safe and happy makes me stronger._

With a proud smirk, Sousuke lifted his head back up to view the night sky. To answer his own question, it didn't matter to him if he deserved to be with her or not. He wasn't going to let that stop him either. _I know I like her and she very important to me. Now if I only knew a way of telling how I feel about her… or knew how she felt about me._

Dropping his head once more, _I really wish there was a manual for this. Things wouldn't be so confusing._

Meanwhile back inside, Kaname was still on the phone with Kyouko when she heard her friend ask, "So how close has he gotten to you?" Kyouko wondered how bold Sagara could be.

Rolling her eyes, Kaname remembered why she was so irritated before as she curtly said, "He would have been a lot closer if someone could have waited till I got home to play twenty questions."

Sounding all dejected, the bespectacled girl quickly justified herself, "I didn't hear any explosions or sirens. I was just wondering."

"Nope, no explosions. Though, if I'm lucky, there might be some fireworks later." While thinking, _Lucky, more like an act of God._

"OOH? I take it my plan is still going well."

"Yeah, speaking of 'the plan'," Kaname said as she noticed the Glock tucked into the back of the boy's pants through the sliding glass door. "I'll talk to you when I get back home."

"Okay, I'll se..." was all that was heard from Kyouko as Kaname closed her cell phone and returned it to the pocket of her skirt. She then headed for the balcony and when the girl slid the sliding glass door open, she felt the chilly late evening breeze blow around her and into the small apartment. The sharp difference in temperature from the warmth of the apartment to the outside made her shiver before the girl asked, "Sousuke, what are you doing out here?" her warm breath formed little white clouds as she spoke.

"I-I want to get some fresh air." he answered dryly.

_Bullshit. He's definitely acting strange tonight. Am I really having that much of an effect on him? _She took a step out on the balcony. Her body shivered even more as her bare feet touched the cold concrete. "Come back inside. You're going to catch a cold being out here in a t-shirt."

As the Sergeant turned around, his eyes widened at the sight of the girl standing there. Part of her skirt blew in the breeze revealing more of her left upper thigh added to the effect, along with the lower part of her sweater showing off more of her soft sculpted tummy. The warm glow of the candles inside the apartment that formed an almost halo like effect around this angel before him. But what really caused the poor boy to become so dumbfounded were the two small protrusions, one on each of her breasts pushing out gently against her bra and sweater. He always knew they were there; Sousuke had studied the human body to help him be a more affective soldier, well, that's his story and he's sticking to it anyway. This was his first time he got to see her body react this way and he was enjoying every minute of it, even if he stood there completely brain dead. Even his Fight or Flee instinct was off line at this glorious sight.

_What is he starring at? _She could see his eyes were locked onto her, "Are you going to come back in or you just going to stand out there all night?" As Kaname folded her arms around her chest in a huff, her palms told her exactly what the Sergeant's eyes were fixated on. The girl's face exploded into deep blushing red. In a temporary moment of embarrassment, she quickly turned around. Causing her ponytail to smack his face, bring him back out of his awestruck trance.

"Y- Yes… let's go back inside." it wouldn't do him any good to have a sick girl on his hand during their trip, or so he told himself.

Once back inside, Kaname relaxed a bit as she felt the warmth of the room chase the chills away. And now, she wanted Sousuke's attention once more; this had been part of the reason she had dressed like this and it wasn't the time for being all embarrassed at the moment. She knew he was just reacting normally, well normal for him. Kurz would have pounced on her in a heartbeat. Either way, Kaname needed to get things back on track and under her control.

Glancing back over at the table, her eyes noticed something. Out of all of his weapons, there were only three handguns and except for the TMP, the rest were shotguns or rifles. _Maybe getting him back in his otaku mode will loosen him up some? _The girl thought to herself before she asked,"Could show me how to use one of your rifles, Sousuke?"

Closing the sliding glass door behind him, he thought about her question. _I could understand asking about a handgun, that's mostly for defensive purposes. A rifle is for offensive purposes… though it would give her better chances of getting away if she could use one effectively. _

"Okay… I'll show you the CAR-15." Sousuke reached over and lifted the rifle off the table. Standing where Kaname could see the weapon in his hands with the candle light of the room, he introduced her to it. "This is the Colt CAR-15 Commando. It's a gas-operated, air cooled, magazine fed, select fire assault rifle, in which I've added a four position telescoping stock too. It is the smaller and older version of the M16 that the U.S. Military currently uses."

_Oh yeah, full otaku military mode here we come. Is he trying to sell it to me or show me how to use it? _Looking perplexed with a raised eye brow, Kaname asked, "'Four position telescoping' what?"

Having to remember that she wasn't a soldier, "It means the butt stock, the part that goes against your shoulder, has 4 different positions to let the shooter adjust its length to fit them better." If she wanted to learn how to shoot this rifle, she would have to know how it operates.

She nodded her head, _Well that is handy I guess._

Continuing on, "It holds 30 rounds of 5.56mm bullets in the magazine and can fire them in two modes. The first mode is semi-automatic, which means it will fire one round every time you pull the trigger, just like a Glock or any other semi-automatic hand gun. The second mode is full-automatic, meaning it will fire continuously while the trigger is pulled, only stopping once the trigger is released or the magazine runs out."

"Isn't it better to pull the trigger for little bit, than holding it down that long?" she asked. Kaname had noticed this while watching the endless amount of war movies with him.

A grin spread across the boy's lips upon hearing these words, he was proud of her for being very observant and bringing up this important point. "Correct, unlike those John Woo movies. It's always better to aim and fire a few well placed bullets, than to fire off the entire magazine and hope you hit something. You never truly know the strength of the enemies you'll be engaging in any given situation and it's always wise to conserve ammunition." Sousuke said before he handed the assault rifle to her.

She took it in her hands with her left hand supporting the fore grip around the barrel. Kaname figured the weapon only weighed slightly under 3kg or about 6 and half pounds. Looking over the Colt carbine, she saw there were buttons and levers covering the main body of the CAR-15. At first she didn't know what any of the controls did on it, besides the trigger and the lever at the bottom of the stock that controlled it's fore and aft movements. To confirm this, the girl pressed the lever and discovered that there was nearly eight centimeters of difference between the stock being pushed all the way in and fully extended. Kaname then asked, "Okay, what do all of these other ones do on this?"

"The button in front of the trigger on the right side is the magazine release. The charging handle is that t-shaped handle on top at the rear, with the forward assist to the right. The fire-selector switch is just above your thumb on the left side and the bolt release is in front of that and above the trigger." He wanted to make sure she fully understood what the controls were. "Now release the magazine."

Doing as she had been instructed with her right trigger finger, Kaname pushed the button in and the weight of the magazine caused it to fall from the small assault rifle, which she instinctively caught in her left hand. It really didn't surprise her to see the magazine was loaded; it weighed about a half a kilogram in her hand. She instantly realized that this must have meant that the weapon in her hand had one bullet in the chamber already and knew not to move the fire selector switch from 'safe'. Glancing down at the top of the magazine, she saw the rounds loaded in it. The cartridges were nothing like any she had seen before; they were twice as long as the 9mm bullets that Sousuke's Glock used and could guess that the rear part of the casings were about the same diameter, but the bullets were a little over half the size of the 9mm and much more pointed in shape.

"Load the magazine back in the CAR-15." Sousuke instructed.

With a nod of her head, Kaname pushed the loaded magazine back into the rifle. As it locked into place, she heard a _click_.

"Use your left hand to pull the charging handle back as far as you can and let it go." he instructed once more.

She hooked her index and middle fingers around the t-shaped hand just below the rear sight and pulled it back along the top of the stock as far as she could. As the blue haired girl did that; she felt the resistance of the buffer spring in her fingers and heard the sound of the internal components sliding rearward inside the body of the carbine, and noticed a trap door looking plate pop open and reveal the ejection port. With the release of the charging handle, it slammed back into weapon. At the same time, the perfectly polished chrome plated bolt could be heard slamming closed. _Hmmm… It didn't eject anything._ The girl thought to herself before she asked,"So it's ready to be fired right now?"

"Yes, all you would need to do now is move the selector switch to either of the other positions and it will fire. One other thing you should know, after releasing the charging handle. Make sure it's locked back in place. If not, the charging handle will move as the rifle is firing, resulting in a bad facial injury."

Kaname quickly peered down at the t-shaped handle. It had a lock mechanism in the left side of the handle, which latched into position as the charging handle returned to its proper position.

"When the magazine is empty, the bolt will lock back after you fire the last round. You can pull the charging handle back all the way to release the lock after the magazine has been removed or a loaded magazine has been installed. Pushing the bolt release will close the bolt also. It's said that it will wear out the bolt release quicker, but I have never heard of or seen one wear out yet." Sousuke knew many people that had used these rifles and its numerous variants over the past 35 years. No one ever mentioned a 'worn out bolt release' before.

Thinking about what Kaname was just told, "So… it would be quicker to reload another magazine and hit the bolt release. But if the bolts already closed, use the charging handle." She stared down at the short rifle in her hand as she spoke.

The grin on the Sergeant's lips started to broaden, he knew she would catch on quickly, it was one of the reasons she did so well at school. "That's correct." was all the brown haired boy replied as he focused on the task at hand. As much as his mind wanted to wander off to other things, he was doing better this time. Though those other things included how appealing it was to see her holding another one of his guns. Reciting the user manual for the Colt CAR-15 from memory did help keep himself under control. His mind also wanted to find out more about the intriguing aromas coming from her. _It wouldn't hurt to investigate these scents more. I could ask her… or would Kaname think I'm being unreasonable, like she's done in the past. She did hit me with the door and stomped on me for wanting to make sure the bathroom was clear for her. I wish she would stop that whenever she gets mad or loses her temper. Now, how to go about it without making a tactical mistake… hmmm… _

The girl failed to notice the subtle inquisitive expression on his face during the moment before the boy said, "Now I'll show you how to properly hold the rifle while you aim."

"Alright." the girl brought the carbine up to her shoulder as a smile graced her features; while supporting the fore guard covered barrel with her left hand, her head leaned over to look down the sight path.

With a faint smirk, Sousuke moved to her right side and observed how Kaname had her head hunched over to use the sights. "It's better to lift your elbow up," as he gently guided her right elbow up. Then he moved his right hand to the bottom of the stock and pushed up on it, "Keep the stock high on your shoulder so you won't have to lean over too much to look down the sight path."

That was the last thing he did before stopping dead in his motion, as if the soldier had instantaneously been frozen.

Kaname didn't mind him touching her elbow, but she didn't know how to react to it. As her eyes went wide, her mind fought between two completely different ideas. The first one suggested making him use his Mithril dental plan, because he might need to have a few teeth replaced after she smashed the stock of the CAR- whatever into his face a few hundred times. While the other idea she had might send his brain into complete and total nuclear overload. _I'll teach you a lesson you won't soon forget. _

Sousuke didn't know what to do. The soldier couldn't even contemplate this would happen. He was just helping position the stock to help her aim. But, rubbing the back of his hand against her breast and somewhat erect nipple as he repositioned the stock on her shoulder never crossed his mind. _Oh shit, not again... _the boy inwardly panicked.

Before the poor boy could pull his hand away, Kaname gentle pushed the stock and his trapped hand into her firm right breast.

Sousuke's heartbeat was pounding in his head at an impressive rate, and that was a gross underestimation at best. Shotgun shell size beads of sweat formed on his brow before he yanked his hand away from its dangerous location.

Kaname felt his hand pull away from her as his fingers brushed along her nipple. That sensation sent chills throughout her body, causing her to close her eyes as Sousuke waited for his ill-fated pummeling. A pregnant moment passed before the girl reopened her eyes and peered back towards him as she asked him seductively, "Are you okay there? It was just an accident, right? "

Wiping away the sweat on his forehead with the guilty hand, "Affirmative, I'm okay." Once he cleared his throat, he attempted to act as if nothing had happened, keyword: 'attempted.' The nervous boy then added, "Let's… continue, shall we?"

"Whatever you say, Sousuke." she sang even more seductively. Kaname enjoyed this little altercation way too much. _What else might he do…? _She focused her eye back through the sights, waiting to see what could come next. It was obvious who the instructor was and who was the student, Sousuke just hadn't figured that out yet.

_That was close... she didn't try to hit me this time. I can do this…, I'm a specialist after all. _Moving to the left, he reached behind her towards her other elbow, "It's better to have your supporting arm resting against your body. It will help stabilize the rifle as you shoot." Sousuke carefully moved her upper left arm to the better position as he stood behind her, with less than a centimeter between their bodies.

As he did this, he could smell both the intoxicating fragrances coming from her. _Is it normal for a girl to wear two completely different but pleasing smells at the same time? The one that smells like cherry blossoms relaxes me, while the other one reminds me of mangoes. Which, for some unknown reason makes me want to grab her and… and… and do things I'm sure Kaname would hit me for. Hmmm… should I..._

While Sousuke contemplated things, Kaname was having her own problems at the same moment. As he spoke those last words, he unconsciously blew his warm breath on the back of her neck. The feelings that rushed through her made it almost impossible to keep her composure or her balance. _This isn't fair, where the hell did he learn this from? _She whined inwardly towards herself._ How did he know my neck was my weak spot? Damn it, I can't let him get the better of me._

"Is the sight pattern better now?" this had been said before he leaned his head to check on her. As he glanced towards her face, the soldier couldn't understand what had Kaname so flabbergasted and distracted. Her chocolate orbs were as large as saucer plates, her cheeks were a deep shade of rouge and her jaw was set. All the while, the girl had a death grip on the grip of the CAR-15 with both of her hands.

As the rifle trembled in her hands, it was impossible for her to keep the front sight post or the rear peephole stable. Kaname chided him in her thoughts for asking such a question at this time, _Sight pattern… sight pattern? How can I see anything, let alone the damn sights when you're breathing a cross my sensitive neck! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!_

The azure haired girl couldn't take it anymore; the thought of that socially inept military moron making her, Kaname Chidori, act like some love struck, weak kneed, little tweener, trying to maintain her composure in front of her favorite and beloved male idol after he just blew her a kiss made her physically disturbed and emotionally bothered. It wasn't supposed to be like this at all; Sousuke should have been putty in _her_ hands, not vice versa. The girl's mind fought fiercely against her emotions and her body's boarder line uncontrollable reaction as she tried to regain herself and her composure, there was no way in hell that the whispered goddess was going to let that soldier ever know he had gotten the better of her.

Though, if there had been an angel and a devil on Kaname's shoulder as she focused on regaining her self-control, they both might have been in disagreement with her and offered their advice in their own ways. The devil might have said something like, "Okay, so that asshole Leonard stole your first kiss. It's unforgivable, but we can move on from it." The little devil would be burning a picture of Leonard Testarossa in effigy before it continued, "So what, you haven't told the boy you like about it, he hasn't bugged you about it." saying this with its hands up in the air as if it wasn't that big of a deal. "He's still right here with you. So, go for it girl. Leonard might have gotten the first kiss, but I'm sure Sousuke is more than worthy of your virginity. Besides, he's got a nice ass, among other nice things. Plus he's cute too." The devil would more than likely be smiling at the end, with a thumb up in the air.

Standing next to the devil, the angel would be doing her own thing, "Yes, as much as I would hate to agree with her, what that unpleasant little coward of a man did was absolutely unforgivable." the little angel would be pouring gallons of gasoline on the burning picture. "Although I understand why you feel you can't tell Sousuke about what that Bas..." Of course, she couldn't use such a word, she was an angel after all, but then continued, "…t-that person did to you. I still believe it's wrong to keep this a secret from him. Yes, it would be upsetting to him, but you already know he's a good person at heart." The angel would look up at Kaname with disapproval. "Again I don't like to agree with your other side, but that wicked man stole your first kiss. I suggest you ask Sousuke to help replace that nightmarish memory with a lot more pleasant one." She would be now giving Kaname her approval, "And if you decide to take things as far as that devil said, remember, he is still a child in this area and make sure to use some protection." The angel would look back at Sousuke and blushed, "Beside, he's very handsome and does have a nice ass." Smiling as she looked back towards Kaname, her hand would also be giving Kaname the thumbs up.

It was pretty clear to herself what she wanted to do. _That's it! I'm going for it… _Kaname gently, but firmly rested the assault rifle down on the floor with its barrel against the table with the radio equipment. Closing her eyes, Kaname slowly turned around to face the Sergeant. With a deep breath, she moved her arms up around Sousuke's neck, as she pressed her body against his.

In the candle light of the room, the soldier wasn't exactly sure what had brought the sudden change in his charge, but he wasn't about to question it when he saw her angelic face glow in the warmth of the natural light before his. Her coffee brown eyes through those thick lashes seemed to sparkle in the setting. Although she moved with gentle confidence, the Sergeant swallowed hard as he felt her body press against his. He still had no clue what caused this turn of events; not that he was going to complain about it, but it reminded him of that night in North Korea all over again. Being that close to her, his form suddenly stiffened once she brought her arms up and around his neck. It was as if a bolt of electricity had shot right through him and into his soul as her arms crossed behind him. This sensation quickly faded as the boy drank in the warmth coming from the girl's body and brought him into a relaxed state. While his mind mused with turmoil of what to do, his body moved on its own and brought his arms up around her waist, resting his hands on her hips just at the top of her skirt with his fingers dancing along the edge of her lower back.

From her angle, the lights casted a soft shadow across the features of the boy she clung to. Kaname could barely make out the expression on his face, but his body told her all she wanted to know at that moment. With his arms embracing her, she rested her head on his chest. "Sousuke, remember when you asked what I wanted to talk to you about after we got back from Hong Kong?" she was trying desperately to conceal her fears of discussing that subject.

"Y-yes… On the train ride home after school that day." that day had still been fresh in his memory.

Closing her eyes, "I wanted to tell you…, hmmm…?" A sound in the background interrupted her train of thought. But judging from how stiff Sousuke became again, he heard it also.

"I wonder what she wants to tell him?" had been whispered very softly in the background.

Kaname's eyes shot open as wide as they could. Slowly lifting her head off of his chest, it didn't take much light to see the scowl on his face now. Tilting her head to her right, what she saw made her swallow without a thought. As her brain registered the image her eyes translated to it. The information ignited a fire inside her, which was only outweighed by her embarrassment at that moment. The one thing she had not taken into consideration tonight was standing in the doorway to the main room. _I can't believe this, God, not right now…_

"Kanaaaamay... Sousuky… old buddy. How are ya tonight?" Kurz loudly greeted his friends in a drunken slur. He knew the show was over, but he couldn't just let it end like this. This was Kurz Weber after all.

With that said, Kaname pulled her arms from around the boy's neck quickly. While still mostly hidden from sight by Sousuke, she started buttoning up her sweater back to a more reasonable level. Though, if that devil and angel had still been around, they both would have cursed and gave Weber the middle finger in unison.

Sousuke slowly turned his head to face his comrade. The click of his tongue in irritation and the look in his eyes would have told anyone looking his way that he was far from happy-camper-ville.

His 'old friend', Kurz stood there supporting Sergeant Major Mao with her left arm draped across his shoulders and his right arm held her tightly around her waist. They both were dressed as if they had spent much of the evening bar or club hopping. "I hope we didn't interrupt anything?" the highly buzzed sniper said as he dragged the Sergeant Major's feet as he moved Melissa deeper into the room before resting her against the kitchenette counter.

"No… of course not! You didn't interrupt anything at all. I was just leaving anyway." the venom dripping from her words would have given an elephant a heart attack in less than seconds. But it was wasted on the inebriated pair as Kaname quickly stormed from Sousuke's presence, grabbing her coat off the back of her chair. "I'll see you tomorrow morning Sousuke… and thanks for the evening." she had meant this to sound heartfelt to him, but her anger still lingered as she spoke. Once her sandals were back on, she was out the door before the brown haired boy could call out, "Chidori...!"

The slamming of the front door brought Melissa around some from her foggy hangover. "Oh, we hom aready?"

As Sousuke turned to face this squad mates, Kurz caught full sight of his unpleasant expression. Simply saying that it would have frozen the Grim Reaper in its tracks would have been the understatement for the year, if not the decade.

"Yeah, sis we're home. And it looks like our boy is growing up so quickly." the blonde haired sniper proudly proclaimed.

Still hung over, Melissa asked, "Wha da fuck are ya talkin' bout limp dick?"

With a joyful glee, Kurz informed her, "It looks like old Sousuke couldn't wait for the trip to get our 'Angel' all alone. It seems we came home at the best part."

Sousuke knew his 'friends' were both drunk by the way they were acting. The Sergeant Major must have had a considerable amount more alcohol than Weber.

Glancing across the table, the sniper teased, "I never saw Kaname as the type of girl that would enjoy guns as foreplay." Kurz was counting the firearms on it. It was about a small part of his buddy's collection, but more than enough to invade a small country.

"Geezes fuckin christ, Kurz. Keep ya mind out of da goddamned gutter, azzhoe." Melissa took out her cigarettes from her jacket pocket and it took a few tries, but she finally got one in her mouth. Fumbling with her lighter, once she got it lit, Melissa awkwardly adjusted her eyes due to the brightness of the flame. Rolling the cigarette around in her lips, she took a long drag and pulled the fire into its tip. After exhaling the smoke from her lungs with her cigarette still hanging from her lips, the remaining female snapped off, "Don't talk bout her tat way either."

"Hey, don't get your panties in a bunch, Melissa." Kurz protested. "Although… I would suggest that Sousuke try something else besides guns if he wanted to get her into bed. Maybe… Berry White?"

That last comment didn't earn Weber any brownie points with Sousuke. "Kurz! I was _not_ trying to get Chidori in to bed!" the boy defensively barked at his fellow Sergeant.

The sniper couldn't help himself at this point. "Yeah right man. With the way she was dressed tonight, she was smoking hot. How could _that_ not cross your mind?"

Sousuke's eyes were now darting back and forth between Weber and the guns on the table.

"Kurz ya might wanna keep your damn mouth shut." Mao quickly elbowed her blonde subordinate in the gut. "I don't wanna hear ya bitch'n later if Sousuke pops you one." Mao stumbled over to the chair Kaname had sat in earlier this evening.

"It's okay sis. Besides, Sergeant Serious over there knows I'm just messing with him. Anyways, I'm proud of him. It looks like he was finally making out with Kaname when we got here."

As the fog began to lift from her mind, Melissa surveyed the table, noticing that the food wasn't take-out and the plates and sliverware weren't Sousuke's. She began to take in the number of candles in the room that were providing all the illumination. It wasn't long before she muttered quickly to herself, "Oh shit…"

While the Sgt Major made her observation of the situation, the blonde playboy kept going, "So Sousuke my boy… which base did you get too, 2nd or 3rd?" Kurz was way too drunk to keep himself in check.

"Kurz, we were not playing softball." Sagara snapped through clenched teeth. Kaname played on the girls' softball team, so he knew a few of the basic rules. Still, the young Sergeant couldn't make the connection between what his friend implied they were doing and softball.

"Don't be so damn clueless part-timer." Weber grumbled. Melissa and Kurz were aware of Sousuke's new 'part-time' status with Mithril. They also knew he wouldn't be called back to duty unless it was something major, where Arbalest was needed or had a direct affect on Kaname. But, Weber couldn't believe that his young friend was still this dense about his desires for the blue haired whispered girl. That had been part of the reason Sousuke took this 'part-time' rolek, along with giving up other things. "It looked like you already made it to 1st base, since you two were already kissing. Did you feel up her any? Did you sample any of her forbidden fruits?"

"'Forbidden fruits'?" Sousuke asked irritated, confused by the metaphor. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Kurz rolled his eyes, "Did squeeze them nice firm butt of hers or did you play with those tig ole bitties of hers?"

As Melissa was starting to sober up some, she caught the unpleasant exchange between her two subordinates before blasting Weber. "God fuck'n damn it Kurz, will you just shut the fuck up and leave Sousuke alone. We walked in on him and Kana..."

_BANG!_

The sound of the muzzle report had interrupted Mao from throwing one of the fully loaded assault rifle magazines at Kurz's head. An empty brass casing was the only thing that could be heard as it bounced of the sliding glass door and then across the floor before it rolled to a stop by Melissa's foot.

"…?" turning toward Sousuke momentarily confused and almost dropping the cigarette from her lips, Melissa saw Sousuke standing there with his Glock 19 pointed at Weber and could tell he was already passed his limit with Weber's antics. Glancing back to Kurz, she could see the red dot of the internal laser sight trained where the rubber bullet impacted on the sniper's forehead.

With his eyes rolled back in his head, Weber fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

Dropping the pistol to his side, Sousuke headed toward the closet to retrieve his flight jacket. As Sousuke put it on, he dryly snapped, "I'm going out on patrol, Sgt Major." With that, Sousuke headed for the front door.

"Sorry we interrupted yo-" The front door slammed close before Melissa could finish, "-ur romantic dinner." She didn't know if Sousuke heard her. Looking down at Weber, she sighed before lighting another cigarette. "You can sleep it off right there, Kurzy-baby."

xxxxx

**21:19 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan**

**Maison K, 4****th**** Floor, stair well**

**T-minus 11 hours 41minutes**

_Damn it, why did they have to show up right then. _Kaname scoffed at herself as she ascended the stairs, wrapped tightly in her knee length coat. She wasn't thrilled by Kurz and Melissa's arrival at Sousuke's place, stumbling in drunk like a couple of sailors on leave. _They should have called or something. Was the idea of him having me over there, that much of a stretch?_

As she made her way towards her front door, the blue haired angel heard what sounded like a gun shot. That sound came from the safe house; she immediately came to a stop and with her eyes wide open, the girl peered over to see what happened. Kaname could see Sousuke standing at the sliding glass door. His right arm stretched out with his Glock in hand. She could barely make out the look on his face, but could only guess that he wasn't happy about being disturbed either. _Who did he just shoot?_

The vibration of her phone interrupted her thoughts. Reaching under her coat, she pulled it out of her skirt's pocket; Kaname saw the number on the phone and quickly answered it.

"Hello?" She asked, although the whispered girl already knew who was calling.

An electrically distorted voice spoke, "I never would have guessed he would shoot his own friend, even with a rubber bullet."

Breathing out a heavy sigh, "Let me guess, Kurz?"

"Correct." the normally cold toned voice seemed to have a hint of amusement in it.

_Serves him right, he probably said something disrespectful about me. _Kaname watched as Sousuke disappeared from the view into his apartment. "I see, is that why you called?" she had already asked this person to find out what they could about Sousuke's mission.

The icy tone returned to the voice, "No, but I have some information for you, just not much. Officially, orders came from Sydney. Then it was handed directly to each of the boat's ODs. It seems his side is running things. My side is being left out completely. His father is keeping everything close to his chest. Hong Kong doesn't have a clue. They still don't know you two are going anywhere. I'm not even sure if your former classmate even knows. It seems no one _needs to know_ about this."

Resting near her front door, Kaname interpreted the new information, _So… Kalinin is running this for the Western Pacific Fleet. Mithril's Combat Division is keeping this secret from the other Divisions. Since Sousuke is already off the De Danaan, Tessa doesn't need to know about this. So we will be all alone, at least I hope it will be that way. _Kaname smiled at the little nugget she had been told. "Where will you be during this?" she was wondering if her ghost would be tagging along.

The reserved voice replied, "I have to stay at home. They will know if I'm out of the area. The 'Chinaman' wasn't that upset the last time, but I'm sure it causes problems on both sides if anything seems out of the norm."

"You want me to bring you back something then?" she was trying to lighten the mood since this undead voice rarely broke cover.

"No I don't need…", the voice paused for a brief moment. "Since you'll be in the area, I could use a bottle of Ginjoshu from Aramasa. That shouldn't be too hard to get your hands on."

_A Korean Sake drinker? _Kaname was taken aback by the request. She knew they could find a bottle while at Akita. "Ok, that shouldn't be a problem. Did you find anything else?"

"I have it on good word from Finance that your friend has been moving a lot of money around. Noticeable amounts have been moved from the markets and investments into a private off shore account, making it impossible to follow any trails from there. His spending habits have shifted a bit since you two returned from Hong Kong. He's being very careful not to raise any suspicions beyond that."

She didn't care about Sousuke's money, but it did make Kaname wonder what he was up to. _I knew he had investments, but_ _played the Stock Markets also. _"Okay, so he has money. Is that it?"

"No, nothing I can prove at this point." the voice answered.

"Ok, good work." she wanted to say something else. "And…"

"What is it?" was asked coldly.

"I just wanted to say thank you again for your help in Hong Kong." Kaname felt that she owed Wraith that much.

"It's not a big deal. I can understand how you felt. Just be happy you got him back." this was stated with a faint sign of emotion.

Kaname really didn't like how things were done, but it worked out for the best. "Yea, but did you have to dress up like me?"

"For heaven's sake, I needed to look like you to get his attention. Would you want me to dress up like the other girl? I'm sure I could have found a platinum or ash blonde wig with a braid off the back, some gray contacts, and pretended to fall on him, it would have made it easier to place the tracker on him." Wraith didn't like to be questioned about how she did her job. She was a Professional.

"Sorry, I'm not really complaining, it was just creepy. And if I remember right, you did crawl on top of him." Kaname really didn't like that one bit. Of course it did add to the reasons to kick the crap out of Sousuke.

"Don't be jealous. Besides, he was just sitting there like a bump on a log. Is he always that clueless and moody when you come on to him? Anyway, we needed to put the tracker on him just in case, so the plan would work. You should have taken notes." Wraith wasn't irritated. It was fun for her to mess with Sousuke. He was indoors most of the time with Angel.

Kaname sighed; she knew this wasn't getting her anywhere with the Mithril Intel agent. "I'm not jealous, but you were right. Your plan worked, we able to follow Sousuke after he left you and I got to talk some sense into him." taking a deep breath. "And yes… he can be clueless about that and very moody at times."

Wraith couldn't understand how a healthy teenage boy could be so dense. "Anyways, have a safe trip. I'll see you later."

"Thanks. I really do mean it, for helping me bring Sousuke back."

"I know. Just don't forget the Sake."

Kaname hung up her phone after Wraith did._ I need to get inside._

xxxxx

**November 3, 00:09 (Japan Standard Time)**

**Chofu, Japan**

**Maison K, 4****th**** Floor, Chidori's Condo**

**T-minus 8 hours 51 minutes**__

Kaname lay restless in her bed as her mind processed the information and events of that evening. What happened over at the safe house with Sousuke wasn't ideal, but she made the best of it. If Melissa and Kurz hadn't come waltzing in on them, drunk off their asses, who knew what could have happened. _Another missed chance to kiss him, Damn… When am I going to get the courage to do it? Why doesn't he make the first move? No, of course not, that would be too romantic for him to think of._

Wraith's information had her wondering about the trip. Kalinin was the one who gave into what Sousuke wanted. As far as Kaname knew, he was a very smart man and he watched over Sousuke like a father. _Did Sousuke wanting to bring me along make it easier to keep this mission covert in Kalinin's eyes? Was he simply helping Sousuke become more normal? Could it be that the old Russian wanted Sousuke and me to have time alone together? What father wouldn't want their son with a girl like me? _A smile expanded across her face.

_Wraith did say he was keeping all the details about this trip a secret. Mithril Intel doesn't know I'll be out of the area. I wonder if Tessa knew about this. It would serve that pint sized Captain right. _Kaname knew about the training Tessa received from Sousuke for her AS match with Melissa. Tessa got a day with him, but Kaname had him for months now. _Am I really closer to him than she is after all this time? _Shaking her head,_ What am I thinking, I'm the one going away with him without Mithril watching over us. Plus he asked me to go, not her._

This fact brightened her smile more. Rolling over, Kaname gazed down on Kyouko, who was sleeping on the floor next to her bed. Kyouko had tried to debrief her about the impromptu dinner with Sousuke. The azure haired girl only said it was enjoyable and knew which perfume that he liked by his actions. She had left out the firearm training she got. So her best friend was happy with the results.

Tossing again in her bed, Kaname noticed the light from the outside shining on the ceiling. It was from one of the new street lights the city had recently put up. The street light was the kind that had a motion detector that would turn on when anyone walked near the light. _I need to close the curtains tighter..._

Getting out of her bed, she adjusted her nightie. She wasn't used to it yet. Kyouko had urged her to wear it to bed, helping the girl get used to it. It was white with little blue dots on it. The thin straps kept falling off Kaname's shoulders every time she moved. That bothered her, since she wasn't wearing a bra with it. One wrong move and nothing would be left to the imagination. Not that it would take much, this nightie barely covered her hips. Panties were a must with this.

As the blue haired angel reached to close the curtains tighter, she peered down out of her bedroom window through the curtains. There she saw someone leaning against the pole of the street light. After her eyes adjusted to the light, she could make out the person. "Sousuke?" Kaname said out loud.

Wearing a military flight jacket over the clothes he had on earlier that night. Sousuke was leaning there checking out his surroundings with his hands tucked into the jacket's pockets.

She wondered why he was out there at this time of night. _He better get some sleep tonight._

As she stared down upon the stoic Sergeant, he looked up to her window as if the soldier was staring straight up at her. The girl almost jumped out of her skin. _Can he see me? There's no way he can see me with the lights off in here._

In a strange way, this stocker like manner was comforting to her. This was his way of making sure she was safe. Kaname's smile grew as she looked down at her protector. "Always on duty aren't you?" Seeing the slight nod of his head left the girl wondering and bewildered. _Ok, can he see me after all? _

Down on the sidewalk, in the cold night air, Sousuke blasted himself for his unconscious movement. _Kaname is by the window, I shouldn't have done that… I'm slipping... NO, I want her to know I'm still here for her._

Kaname didn't think he could see her, but Sousuke being there, watching over her, even at this time of night when she couldn't sleep, warmed her all over. This simple gesture told the girl that no matter what, her soldier was still there for her. This comfortable feeling had set her mind at ease. Though, she needed to get back to bed.

She placed her hand on the glass, warmly smiling, "Hey Sousuke…" A second later, her eyes widened at the sight of him waving back at her. _How the hell...? There's no way he could see me from 4 storeys below. Ooh, I must be tired. I'm seeing things._

Closing the curtains tightly, Kaname crawled back into bed. Pulling her stuffed Bonta-Kun tightly in to her chest. She didn't care anymore if the strap of her nightie fell off her shoulder. "Good night, my sweet Sousuke. I'll see you in the morning." then kissed the stuffed mascot in her arms gently on its lips.

Sousuke's normal stoic expression was suddenly replaced by a bewildered look, which turned into a joyful smirk. He sighed deeply as he checked the surrounding area. "Good night partner." was muttered as he wished her a good night rest.

As he brought his hand up to his left ear, "OK keep surveillance mode on. Notify me immediately when Angel or her guest wakes up or if any disturbance occurs at Angel's residents. Understood?"

Yes Sergeant, Surveillance Mode 4 will remain on. a digitally sounding AI's voice answered. Rolling his eyes, _I can't believe Melissa brought 'Friday' along for this. At least it's not as bad as Al._

"I'm headed to bed." Sousuke headed back to the safe house.

Sergeant? the voice chimed.

"Yes?"

Would you like a wakeup call set? it asked.

Rolling his eyes again, Sousuke answered, "Zero seven hundred hours."

Yes Sergeant, Good night.

_Maybe I spoke too soon... _"Good night." Sousuke grumbled before walking off into the night.

_Till next time…_

A/N: (slides on my fire proof underwear and overalls) There you have it, the latest chapter of my story. I truly hope you all enjoyed as much as I had writing it and I look forward to reading all the reviews; whether praise or flameage, I'm ready. So until the next time, be well and I will really try to get the next chapter posted in a reasonable amount of time for me, till then, later.


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